FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers: In the second match of Group A in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday 21st November at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the Indian Football Team will have the challenge of defeating Qatar, which is ranked 61st in the world rankings. However, the morale of the Indian team has increased after defeating Kuwait 1-0 in the first match of the qualifiers.
Let us tell you that India will hope to give a tough competition to Qatar on home ground at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar but the visiting team will start as a strong contender. Qatar, ranked 61st in the world rankings, defeated Afghanistan by a huge margin of 8-1 in their opening match on November 16 in Doha. The team will try to continue this momentum against India.
4 years ago the match between India and Qatar was a draw
The Indian team had held Asian champion Qatar to a goalless draw four years ago and this will act as an inspiration for the team in this match. India surprised the football world by holding Doha, Qatar to a goalless draw in the second round qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup on September 10, 2019. Qatar was in tremendous form at that time and had won the Asia Cup title in early 2019.
The top two teams in the group will qualify for the next round.
Apart from India and Qatar, there are teams from Kuwait and Afghanistan in Group A. The top two teams in the group will book their places at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup with the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Indian team has not reached the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers even once and its hopes have been raised after the team’s 1-0 win over Kuwait.
It is noteworthy that in that match, charismatic Indian captain Sunil Chhetri did not take the field due to ill health but he will be eager to show his skills at Kalinga Stadium on Tuesday. Even with the presence of Chhetri, there is little possibility that the Indian team will attack more than Qatar.
Don’t forget to like Bollywood Keeda.Com’s WhatsApp channel.