India put up a credibly good defense in a World Cup qualifier match on Thursday in a 0-1 loss to Asian champions Qatar. Abdulaziz scored in the 33rd minute in a Qatar dominated match. In the first round of football match in September 2019, both the teams drew goalless. Qatar, who is yet to lose a match, was in a wave of attacks but managed to defeat India on Thursday night.
Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had to save several times to keep the margin short. However, after defender Rahul Bheke got a red card in the 17th minute, Indian football team had to play with 10 men squad. Earlier, the Bengaluru midfielder got the yellow card in the ninth minute. Blue Tigers under the captaincy of Sunil Chhetri failed to equalize. Hence, Qatar registered a win in the qualifiers with a single goal by Al Rayyan midfielder.
India made two good moves in the match, hitting back with Manveer Singh on both the occasions. Indian captain Sunil Chhetri, who returned to the team after recovering from the COVID-19 infection, was replaced by Udanta Singh in the second-half resumption.
An undefeated India finished fourth in Group E with three points from six matches with three draws and three losses, while Qatar remains on top with 19 points from 7 matches.
Igor Stimac’s men are two points behind Afghanistan (third with five points), who played 1-1 against Bangladesh earlier that day. India will take on Bangladesh in their next match on June 7.
