India Vs Qatar: Expecting a miracle in football today, India will enter the FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Qatar – India Vs Qatar Fifa World Cup 2026 Afc Qualifiers Match Preview Live Streaming Head To Head Record

The Indian football team will take the field against Qatar in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday (November 21) in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. This is the toughest challenge India faces in Group A. In such a situation, miraculous performance is expected from the players of Team India. The Indian team’s morale is high after defeating Kuwait 1-0 in the first match of the qualifiers. India will hope to give a tough fight to Qatar on home soil but the visiting team will start as favourites.

The Indian team had held Asian champions 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 Qatar to a goalless draw in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers on September 10, 2019. Qatar were in tremendous form at that time and had won the Asia Cup title in early 2019. Charismatic Indian captain Sunil Chhetri did not take the field in that match due to ill health but he will be eager to showcase his skills at the Kalinga Stadium on Tuesday.

Even with the presence of Sunil Chhetri, there is little possibility that the Indian team will attack more than Qatar. The biggest challenge for the Indian team will be to stop Qatar’s star striker Almoiz Ali, who scored four goals against Afghanistan. The Indian defense is already a bit weak in the absence of Anwar Ali. Apart from Ali, Indian coach Igor Stimac will not get the services of Jackson Singh in this important match. Ali got injured during Mohun Bagan’s AFC Cup match while Kerala Blasters player Jackson got injured in the Indian Super League match against Mumbai FC.

Also keeping an eye on 2027 AFC Asian Cup
In the middle line, Sahal Abdul Samad and Manvir Singh will be challenged to blunt the edge of Qatar’s front line and create chances for the Indian front line. 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.

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh had led the team in that match against Qatar in 2019 and the onus will once again be on him to prevent Qatar from scoring at the Kalinga Stadium. 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.

india vs qatar head to head
So far three matches have been played between India and Qatar. Qatar has won two matches. One match has been a draw.

Where and at what time can you watch the match?

This match will be played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from 7:00 pm Indian time. It will be telecast on TV on Sports18 1, Sports18 1HD, Sports18 3 channels. Online streaming will be available on Jio Cinema app and website.