BHUBANESWAR, Nov 21: Asian champion Qatar won 3-0 on Tuesday at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar to end India’s 15-game home winning streak in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. With six points from two games, Qatar maintained their lead in Group A.
In India’s opening defeat in the second qualifying round, Qatar scored goals through Moustafa Tarek Mashal, Almoez Ali, and Yusuf Abdurisag.
The first opportunity for the visiting team came in the second minute when Amrinder’s misplaced kick found Almoez on his left. The visitor team started on the offensive right from kickoff. To the relief of the home crowd, the forward ducked into the Indian penalty box and crossed it for Akram Afif on his left. However, the No. 11’s shot missed the mark.
Qatar had smelt blood. It led 1-0 after the next two minutes.
After Afif’s corner kick was first cleared, it was eventually lobbed in, and Tameem Mansour Al-Abdullah won the ball in the penalty box. As Moustafa charged in and grounded a shot, he caught the bewildered Indian defense off guard.
It was a battle of the No. 23s: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the standout goalkeeper who had become a hero four years earlier against Qatar, had been replaced in the starting eleven by India’s No. 23 Amrinder Singh.
The game-winning goal for Qatar came from attacking midfielder Moustafa, 22, in the first half.
He almost doubled the lead at the half-hour mark, but Amrinder was too strong, tipping his header wide.
Anirudh Thapa and Sunil Chhetri’s combination down the right gave India a chance to tie the score in the 35th minute. After the former carried the ball into the final third, Lalengmawia was set up in front of the penalty box by the latter’s back-heel and Thapa’s pass. But he didn’t ski the ball.
Another opening came for India seven minutes later. The Qatari back-line made a mistake due to Chhetri’s run, and Thapa took advantage of it.
A team that was ranked forty-one places higher than India had missed two opportunities to draw even. When Thapa finished, Carlos Queiroz and Igor Stimac were staring at that moment with equal nervousness. However, the midfielder’s attempt was just wide, and the stadium’s Indian and Qatari supporters simultaneously let out a collective “oooh!” while expressing very different feelings.
Following the restart, Qatar quickly outnumbered the Indian half and, in a matter of minutes, had doubled the lead. Amrinder felt he had stopped Afif’s close-range shot with his fingertips, but Almoez kicked the ball off his glove and into the empty net.
In an attempt to reorganize the group, Stimac brought Ishan Pandita and Rahul KP in place of Sunil Chhetri and Lallianzuala Chhangte. The forwards, though, made no meaningful contribution in front of goal.
The game was won by the Maroons in the 86th minute when Yusuf, a substitute, headed a cross from the left past Amrinder.
With three points from two games played, the defeat keeps India in second place in the standings, but more significantly, it gives Stimac and his team a better idea of their weaknesses well in advance of their trip to Qatar for the AFC Asian Cup next year. (Agencies)
