India vs Qatar, World Cup qualifiers: Qatar’s Abdulaziz scored the solitary goal of the World Cup qualifier in the 33rd minute as the reigning Asian champions defeated 10-man India 1-0 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Thursday. In the process, the Men in blue suffered their third defeat of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers.
Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh, however, put up a daunting effort in the goal as the shot-stopper made 9 crucial saves.
India vs Qatar, World Cup qualifiers: First Half- Sunil Chhetri and Co was down to 10 men in the 17th minute of the game as Rahul Bheke was sent off after picking two yellow cards. It was always going to be difficult against a team of Qatar’s pedigree but going down to 10 men made it even more daunting for men in blue in the first half. Offensively, this was a better match for India compared to their previous tie against Qatar.
India vs Qatar, World Cup qualifiers: Second Half-Manvir Singh also missed out on two good chances to score for India as Gurpreet Singh was kept busy by the Qatar attackers. India brought in Udanta Singh replacing the captain, Sunil Chhetri in the second half. Gurpreet had a good second half, making some fine saves, but India could not get the equaliser and suffered another defeat.
World Cup qualifiers Group E Standings: Placed in the Group E of the qualifiers, India now have only three points from six matches while Asian champions Qatar lead the table with 19 points from seven games while Oman are second with 12 points from five matches. Igor Stimac’s men will take on Bangladesh and Afghanistan on June 7 and 15, respectively, at the same venue.