The Indian national football team resumes its 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers when it takes on Qatar at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday.
India’s chances of qualifying for the next round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers are already over. The Sunil-Chhetri-led side is one of the two teams from Group E - along with Bangladesh - who are yet to win a group stage game. In five matches so far, the Blue Tigers have lost thrice and have drawn twice.
While India’s recent results haven’t been uplifting, they can take the positive from the fact that captain Sunil Chhetri is back in the team.
All is not lost for India though. The team still has so much to play for as a place in the third round of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers is still on the line. India will make it to the next round if they finish amongst the four best fourth-placed teams across all groups. If not, they will have to play the qualifying play-off round.
On the other hand, Qatar have nothing to lose as they have already qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup by being the host nation. Their spot in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup is all but confirmed as well, meaning that their aim would be a top place finish in the group.
Indian football team squad for World Cup qualifier vs Qatar
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Narender Gehlot, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Akash Mishra, Subhashish Bose
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, Rowllin Borges, Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa, Pronoy Halder, Suresh Singh, Apuia, Abdul Sahal, Yasir Md, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Ashique K
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Ishan Pandita.
Qatar football team squad for World Cup qualifier vs India
Goalkeepers: Saad Al-Sheeb, Meshaal Barsham, Mahmoud Abunada, Salah Zakaria
Defenders: Musab Khoder, Pedro Miguel, Tarek Salman, Bassam Al-Rawi, Ahmed Suhail, Boualem Khoukhi, Homam Ahmed, Sultan Al-Brake, Abdelkarim Hassan
Midfielders: Salem Al-Hajri, Assim Madibo, Karim Boudiaf, Khalid Muneer, Abdulaziz Hatem, Youssef Abdel Razaq, Mohammed Waad, Hassan Al-Haydo, Abdullah Abdulsalam
Forwards: Mohammed Muntari, Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, Ismaeel Mohammad, Ahmed Alaaeldin.
Where to watch India vs Qatar live in India?
India vs Qatar World Cup qualifier will be telecast live at 10:30 PM IST Star Sports 2 SD and HD, Star Sports 3, Star Sports 1 SD and HD (Hindi).
The match can also be viewed in regional languages on Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada, Star Sports 1 Bangla.
Live streaming of India vs Qatar will be available on Hotstar.
Featured photo: Twitter / Indian Football
