With this loss, India slumped to the third place in Group A after Kuwait won 1-0 against Afghanistan and thus failed to enter the third round at 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC Qualifiers.
New Delhi: A controversial goal marred India’s final group encounter against Qatar in the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC Qualifiers as the Sunil Chhetri-less Blue Tigers lost 1-2 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. Lallianzuala Chhangte gave India the lead on 37 minutes. The controversy arose during Qatar’s equalizer in the 73rd minute.
After the ball went out of the play, Qatar defender Hashmi Al Hussain pulled the ball from outside before Yousef Aymen pushed the ball inside the goal. Ahmed Al-Rawi scored the winner five minutes from time to win the game for Qatar. Unfortunately, the referee continued with the game, thus drawing severe backlash from all quarters.
#IndianFootball rigged
India vs Qatar pic.twitter.com/g0esjvBst6— Jerry John Varghese (@JerryJohnVargh1) June 11, 2024