Qatar introduced up a pleasant essay of attacking soccer to suppress India’s aspirations by a 3-0 scoreline in Group A’s second-round match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and Asian Cup 27 qualifiers on the Kalinga Stadium right here on Tuesday.
The Blue Tigers did not invoke the required problem that might unsettle the may and status of the reigning Asian champion.
Making 5 modifications to the squad that began towards Kuwait, India didn’t discover a lot house because the customer went into assault mode proper from the beginning.
Manvir Singh, the objective scorer within the opening match, was absent with a sprained muscle as India head coach Igor Stimac chosen 5 gamers from the bench – Subhasish Bose, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Udanta Singh and goalkeeper Amrinder Singh — to check out a brand new mixture at house.
India conceded within the fourth minute as an unprepared defence did not clear on time, permitting Qatar ahead Mustafa Meshaal to search out the web with a grounder from contained in the field.
The customer discovered a pair extra probabilities within the first quarter of the motion however centreback Sandesh Jhingan and Amrinder had been alert within the field to block the marauding Qataris from including one other one to the tally.
India tried to tidy its sport late within the opening half, launching assaults by way of the flanks. The first good probability for the host got here within the fortieth minute when Chhangte set a pointy cross on the Qatar goalmouth however the latter’s defence cleared earlier than Udanta may make a attempt. Two minutes later, Thapa shot broad of an open objective to lengthen India’s frustration.
The change of ends didn’t assist India because it conceded the second instantly within the forty sixth minute off an Almoez Ali effort. The Indian attackers tried a couple of extra offensive forays within the Qatar field however all their efforts remained abortive. Substitute Yusuf Abdurisag made it 3-0 within the 86th minute to finish a well-earned victory for the customer.
The consequence: India 0 misplaced to Qatar 3 (Mustafa Meshaal 4, Almoez Ali 46, Yusuf Abdurisag 86).