New Delhi :  Qatar thrashed India 3-0 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, giving India a reality check on their 2026 World Cup campaign. India was on a high after beating Kuwait in their first match. Qatar hosted the last FIFA World Cup and was considered to be a strong team in Group A. In such a situation, it was not easy for the Indian team to win this match. However, the Indian team can still qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Although the Indian team has never reached the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, it would be a historic record if they make it this time. Apart from Qatar, Kuwait and Afghanistan are also in Group A. The Indian team defeated Kuwait 1-0 in their first match. The Indian team’s next match in this group will be against Afghanistan on 31 March next year and they must win this match to keep their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive.

Apart from that, there are 1-1 matches to be played against the other three teams in the group, after which the ranking of the group will be determined. After the completion of all matches, the top two teams from this group will secure their place at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup with the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying. Either Qatar beats Kuwait in the last game of their group. If that does not happen, it could come down to goal difference again.

The problem of goal difference can arise if India and Kuwait have the same number of points. If Kuwait has lost both their matches against Afghanistan and Qatar, India simply have to win the match against Afghanistan. In this scenario, the 2 best teams from the group of 4 qualify for the next round. If the Blue Tigers had also won this game in this situation, they would have come closer to qualifying for the next round of the World Cup qualifiers. But that did not happen.

Qatar defeated the Indian team one-sidedly by 3 goals. But the Indian team also had a few chances to score during the game. However, they could not convert them into a goal. For Qatar, Mustafa scored in the 4th minute, Ali in the 47th minute and Yusuf in the 86th minute. Qatar had previously defeated Afghanistan 8-1.