Football World Cup 2026 Qualifiers: India slips to third place after huge loss to Qatar

The Indian Football Team came to the Kalinga Stadium on Tuesday on the back of a huge win over Kuwait. The Indian team had beaten Kuwait by 1-0 to start their Football World Cup 2026 qualifiers on a high.

Qatar meanwhile had blanked Afghanistan 8-1 to start their qualifications on a high. Football World Cup 2026 Qualifiers saw India host Qatar while Kuwait play Afghanistan on Tuesday night.

At the end of the game the Indian team had slipped to third in the table after losing to Qatar by 3-0 margin. The Kuwaiti side had meanwhile beaten Afghanistan with a 4-0 margin to overhaul India to the 2nd place in the table after two rounds of games.

Rampant Qatar Outclasses India –

Team India was buoyant after their 1-0 win against Kuwait to begin their Football World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. Up against the Blue Tigers were Qatar, who hosted the last Football World Cup in 2022.

Qatar did not waste any time as they got the first goal of the game in the 4th minute. Mustafa Meshaal put his team ahead, thanks to a pin-perfect cross that saw him grab the goal to stun the Indian team and its fans.

Sunil Chettri and his side then created a host of chances as they started to look for an equalizing goal. The Indian team missed two chances in a space of six minutes to score the goals.

In the 36th minute, Indians saw the ball go over the bar after an amazing pass from Anirudh Thapa was wasted. Then in the 42nd minute, it was Anirudh Thapa himself who squandered a golden chance to make it 1-1 as the two teams went in for the break.

After the interval, Qatar did not waste any time as Afif scored the 2nd goal of the game in the 46th minute. The whole stadium went quiet as the Qatari team began to celebrate in what could be termed a body blow for India.

Igor Stimac then pressed more men ahead as team India was looking aggressive. The crowd found its voice once again but Qatar killed the game by scoring the 3rd goal in the 86th minute of the game.

Despite losing this game, India will get their chances of making it to the next round. The Indians will play Afghanistan twice, while Kuwait take on Qatar. If the Qatari team can beat Kuwait twice and India can beat Afghanistan on both occasions, India will climb to number two in the table.