Qatar are a formidable opposition but the margin of India’s defeat in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers was very much their own doing
India coach Igor Stimac did not shy away from admitting Qatar were “out of our league” on the eve of their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier. Qatar, who had just hosted the World Cup, are the reigning Asian champions and are 41 spots ahead of India in the FIFA rankings. Yet, in 2019, India managed a famous 0-0 draw against The Maroons when they were at the top of their powers.
In 2023, India suffered a 3-0 defeat on a dazzling night at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
It’s easy to digest a defeat when you don’t deserve anything from a game, but it’s much more difficult to deal with it when you know things could have been a lot different if only a few things had been done differently.
That brings us to the question: Could India have repeated the 2019 heroics? In terms of the result, yes, but by performance? Maybe not. India’s profile as a team has changed dramatically since 2019 which was the start of Stimac’s tenure. When India caused whirlwind in the desert, it was on the back of a ‘park the bus strategy’. There was only one motive: do not allow Qatar to score and it worked.
India are a more creative side now which relies on ball possession, quick passes, crosses and counterattacks to eke out results. It wasn’t going to be possible for the current squad of players to revert to a defensive style of sticking to their third for long 90 minutes. And it wasn’t the case. It is a relief in many ways because it’s best not to compromise on the larger good for one popular result.
The sustained form for the Blue Tigers, which allowed them to return to sub-100 FIFA rankings earlier in the year, has been a result of their newfound style of playing high-intensity football with an eye on the goal. Sitting back and hoping you can deny a worthy opposition for a full 90 minutes is a suicidal move and while it can work in a game or two, the strategy can’t help you progress as a team or nation.
The gall to take the game to the opposition allowed Blue Tigers to beat Kuwait a few days back for the first away victory in FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 22 years.
In that context, the Qatar defeat is a price paid for opting to play open football.
Yet you can’t deny a lingering sense of disappointment thinking what could have been had India taken their chances.
Stimac surprisingly decided to make five changes, compromising a bit on flair for solidity to balance things out. Amrinder Singh, Shubashish Bose, Anirudh Thapa, Udanata Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte came in for Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Aakash Mishra, Sahal Abdul Samad, Manvir Singh and Naorem Mahesh Singh.
Maybe it was the changes or maybe it was the quality of the opposition, but India weren’t ready for the quick Qatari onslaught in the opening minutes and ended up conceding in as early as the fourth minute. Moustafa Mashal converted from inside the box after Indian defenders failed to clear a corner.
It was the earliest India have conceded under Stimac.
In the 47th minute, immediately after the start of the second half, India conceded a second goal. Another lapse of concentration and goalkeeper Amrinder allowed an Akram Afifi shot to slip through his hands as Almoez Ali doubled the lead.
“Qatar is a different opponent, you know if you just allow them to come close to your box, there is already a chance because they are technically perfect. They can dribble past you, they can pass the ball wherever they want, you know, to whoever they want, they are making great runs in behind. And we were not decisive,” rued Stimac in the post-match press conference.
“We were not on top of our game at the opening stages of the first half and the second half and that was costly to us.”
Somewhere the big call of benching Gurpreet , who had made 11 saves in that famous 0-0 draw, for Amrinder also didn’t work in India’s favour. Generally rock solid and ever reliable, Amrinder looked under pressure, resulting in multiple missed passes that allowed Qatar to launch a string of attacks and disrupted India’s attempt to gain control.
GOALL!! Akram Afif’s shot slips through the hands of Amrinder Singh and Almoez Ali nudges the ball in over the line to make it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/DldqLlSNiV
Going forward, India had their chances. In the 35th minute a back-heel from Udanta allowed Thapa to set up Apuia for a shot from outside the box but he ended up skying it. Then in the 40th minute, skipper Sunil Chhetri stole the ball from central defender Boualel Khoukhi for a rebound to Thapa who had the goal in front of him but failed to hit the target. In the 63rd minute, substitute Samad had an attempt from inside the box but it went wide.
46% possession, 364 passes, 74% pass accuracy and seven shots was a far cry from the 2019 performance where it was one-way traffic for Qatar with 27 shots and the majority of ball possession.
The Indian midfield of Apuia, Thapa and Suresh Wangjam fought valiantly and controlled the game for quite some time. The highlight of their performance was the calmness and ball control they showed under tremendous pressure.
Still, India couldn’t get the result they desired. A win probably was too much to ask for from the start but a 3-0 defeat is not a true reflection of how the Blue Tigers performed at the Kalinga. They deserved more, but if they didn’t get that, it was because of their own mistakes. That in itself is a big learning, for the big stage and against big teams.
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