India faces a must-win situation to stay in the World Cup race in the first game post-Sunil Chhetri’s retirement against Qatar.
QAT vs IND Match Details
Date: Thursday, 6 May 2024
Time: 18:45 (AST), 21:15 (IST)
Venue: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
QAT vs IND Match Preview
Two-time Asian Cup champions Qatar played a surprise 0-0 draw against Afghanistan away in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers last week. Tintin Marquez’s team rested stars for the qualifying games in June having secured their place in the third round as group winners in March and booking a place in the 2027 Asian Cup hosted by neighboring Saudi Arabia. Still, the first dropped points in this qualifiers against a depleted team will itch a little but will give the urge to return to winning ways. With nothing to play for, Qatar will want to end the second round on a high in front of their home fans against the 121st-ranked Indian team. The Middle Eastern side played a goalless draw in this fixture as well some years back although three others have resulted in a win for them. That includes the 3-0 victory in Odisha with Mostafa Meshaal, Almoez Ali and Yusuf Abdurisag getting on the scoresheet.
India has a lot at stake than their opponents when they travel to Doha for the final Round 2 2026 World Cup AFC qualifiers match on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers bid a tearful goodbye to their captain Sunil Chhetri but made their place far more difficult by failing to win in his retirement game. The 0-0 result against Kuwait, a third consecutive draw against them on home soil, left Igor Stimac’s side with a win-or-go-bust situation against Asia’s fifth-ranked nation Qatar. India are placed third in their group requiring a win to qualify for the third round for the first time in history and direct qualification to the 2027 Asian Cup. A draw will still do the job for the visitors provided Afghanistan also lose points against Kuwait in the other match. However, a defeat will be the end of the road for the Blues. India knows the magnitude of the game and they have to accomplish their goal without their leader for the first time.
QAT vs IND Recent Form (all competitions)
QAT: DWWWW
IND: DLDLL
QAT vs IND Recent Form (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers)
QAT: DWWWW
IND: DLDLW
QAT vs IND Predicted Lineups
Qatar
Al Sheeb; Abdullah Yousif, Mohammed Aiash, Yousef Marei; Tahsin Jamshid, Al Hadhrami, Mostafa Meshaal, Homam Elamin; Al-Yazidi, Al-Hassan; Al-Rawi
India
Gurpreet Singh; Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh; Manvir Singh, Jeakson Singh, Suresh Brandon Fernandes, Jay Gupta; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rahim Ali
QAT vs IND Head-to-head
Played - 4
IND won - 0
Drawn - 1
KUW won - 3
QAT vs IND Dream11 Match Prediction
India needs a positive result against Qatar to keep themselves in the race for the third round but their inability to score goals will cause problems. Hence Qatar is expected to clinch the victory despite being surprisingly halted by Afghanistan. We predict a 2-0 win for the home side.
QAT vs IND Dream11 Top picks
Captain Pick: Homam Elamin
Vice-captain Pick: Lallianzuala Chhangte
QAT vs IND Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Gurpreet (Cr - 8)
DEF: Yousif (Cr - 8), Bheke (Cr - 8.5), Anwar (8), Elamin (Cr - 8.5)
MID: Chhangte (Cr - 9), Meshaal (Cr - 9), Brandon (Cr - 8.5), Shehab (8)
FW: Manvir (Cr - 8.5), Al Rawi (Cr - 8), Al Abdullah (Cr - 7.5)
Vice-captain: Lallianzuala Chhangte
Captain: Homam Elamin
