India VS Qatar: India Robbed Of Their World Cup Dream Against Qatar
India finished third in Group A, which not only ended their dream of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, but it also stripped them of directly qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
The dream of India qualifying for the 2026 World Cup was shattered on Tuesday as the Blue Tigers lost 2-1 to home side Qatar. India faced Qatar in the final game of Group A at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, where they had to secure a win to book their place in the 3rd round of AFC qualifiers for the World Cup. Lallianzuala Chhangte opened the score for India in the 37th minute after getting on the end of a beautiful pass from Brandon Fernandes.
A daylight robbery in the Qatar vs India FIFA World Cup qualifier match.
Qatar players dragged the ball outside the line and kicked the ball towards the goalpost. The referee awarded a goal.
Qatar robbed, and FIFA allowed it. pic.twitter.com/WglqcVQDgY — Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) June 12, 2024
India was looking in a strong position until Qatar scored a controversial goal that drew them level. From a set-piece, Qatar played a cross into the box that was headed on goal but was saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The ball was clearly out of play, and Indian players stopped playing as it should have been a corner, but the ball was dragged back into the play and passed in the back of the net by Qatar's Yousef Aymen.
Indian players were furious about the decision, but nothing changed, and the game continued. In the 85th minute, Qatar scored again when Ahmed-Al-Rawi scored a beautiful goal from outside the box to make it 2-1 for Qatar. Kuwait became the second team to qualify for the 3rd Round of AFC Qualifiers as they managed to get all three points against Afghanistan.
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India finished third in Group A, which not only ended their dream of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, but it also stripped them of directly qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Igor Stimac, the coach of the Indian football team, also finds himself in a very tricky situation, as his future is very uncertain.
Only the future will tell whether the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will appeal against this decision or not. It is a harsh reality that the Indian football players and the fans have to accept that the dream of seeing India qualify for the 2026 World Cup is gone and in such a terrible fashion at that.
