Indian Football Team will play joint FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers from November 16. India has been drawn in Group A of the Asian qualifiers, alongside Qatar, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.
The Blue Tigers will begin their season on November 16, 2023, with an away game at Kuwait. Before hosting Qatar, the defending AFC Asian Cup winners, on November 21, 2023, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Before the World Cup qualifier against Kuwait, India will hold a training camp in Dubai. On November 8, the Indian Football Team will depart for Dubai.
India is the second-best team in Group A in the second round qualifiers, trailing only Qatar (global No. 59). Kuwait ranks 137th. Qatar, which won the most recent AFC Asian Cup in 2019, will be the clear favourites to win the group. In the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers in 2019, India managed to keep the Asian powerhouses to a 0-0 tie. Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
The Igor Stimac-coached Indian team also played Kuwait twice this year in the 2023 SAFF Championship. The first match resulted in a 1-1 deadlock, but Sunil Chhetri and his teammates won the trophy on penalties in the final.
India will begin their FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifications second round campaign against Kuwait on November 16, with their final encounter against Qatar scheduled for June 11 of next year. India has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup main draw. The host country for India’s home leg versus Kuwait on June 6, 2024, will be announced later.
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