Does India still have chances of qualifying for Football World Cup 2026 after loss against Qatar?
India lost to Qatar 3-0 in the Football World Cup 2026 qualifiers game. The match between the two sides had a good turnout in Bhuvneshwar of Odisha, where the match was hosted. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the result was not on their side. However, the Indian side received praises from the sports fraternity for their passion to win and commendable effort in the match.
In the Group A, Qatar sits well at the top spot with 2 wins in their 2 matches. Qatar won both their matches with a huge margin and have a dominant goal difference as well. Kuwait is currently placed second in the table with a better goal difference as compared to India. Both Kuwait and India have the same number of wins and would compete for a spot in the next round of the qualifiers.
Two teams from each group will be proceeding further for the third round of the qualifiers stage for the big tournament. While Qatar is deemed to be the favorite to claim the top spot in the Group A, the second spot can be attained by India. For that to happen, India must give their best performance against Afghanistan in the last match of the group stage.
Scenarios for India’s qualification for the Football World Cup 2026
Qatar would be facing Kuwait in their last match of the group stage. India must hope them to beat Kuwait in the match. In their last match in the group stage, India must ensure a huge win against Afghanistan to improve their goal difference. Considering how good Qatar is, as compared to Kuwait, one could expect them to beat Kuwait in their last group stage match as well.
In case Kuwait upsets Qatar, the goal difference would come into picture. India must ensure to win against Afghanistan by a goal difference margin of at least 6 to 7 units. Even if India does not win the game, they have to ensure that they finish third in the points table, which can take them to a complex qualification process where the third ranked teams from all the groups compete against each other.
