The absence of Sunil Chhetri will be deeply felt as the Indian football team prepare for a crucial transition phase with the India vs Qatar FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Doha. The 39-year-old legend recently bid farewell to international football, leaving behind a gaping void that will be very difficult to fill.
The Blue Tigers have struggled in the second phase of their FIFA World Cup second-round qualifiers, with recent draws against Kuwait and poor results against Afghanistan. To qualify for the third round, they need a victory and hope Afghanistan doesn’t defeat Kuwait in their final match.
Igor Stimac must ensure that his team’s performance levels are significantly higher against Qatar compared to their performance against Kuwait. Led by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the Indian Football Team must be defensively even stronger and ruthless in finishing off chances to grab a win. A draw or loss would put a bitter end to the qualifying campaign and squash any hopes of making it to the 2026 World Cup.
Qatar, who were surprisingly held to a draw by Afghanistan recently, have nothing to play for in these matches anymore. However, their promising young guns will look to impress their home crowd by putting in an attractive performance against India. A loss or draw won’t matter much, but knowing their winning mentality, Qatar will not make things easy for India to get a decent result.
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India vs Qatar Indian Football Team news and injury updates
Vikram Partap Singh is back in the India squad after missing the last game due to suspension. However, the likes of Subhasish Bose, Amey Ranawade, and Lalchungnunga have been excluded from the India squad travelling to Qatar. Nikhil Poojary is out with acute Achilles tendon pain, while Sahal Abdul Samad and Anirudh Thapa might lose their place to poor performances. The whole world will wait to see who takes the place of India’s only goal scorer in the last 11 games, Sunil Chhetri.
India vs Qatar Predicted XI
India (4-2-3-1)
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK); Mehtab Singh, Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali, Jay Gupta, ; Jeakson Singh, Suresh Singh; Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Liston Colaco; Vikram Partap Singh
Qatar (3-4-3)
Saad Al Sheeb (GK); Abdalla Yousif, Mohammed Aiash, Yousef Marel; Tahsin Jamshed, Moustafa Tarek, Abdullah Al-Ahrak, Hazem Shehata; Abdulla Alyazidi, Yousuf Abdurisag, Ahmed Al-Rawi
How to watch India vs Qatar Live Streaming in India
The must-win India vs Qatar Live Streaming will be on Fancode in India. One can buy a 25/- pass to watch the match. However, there will be no live telecast of the game on TV.
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