FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Qatar thrash India 3-0: Key stats
Qatar defeated India 3-0 in matchday two of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Moustafa Mashal gave the visitors the early lead from a massive miscommunication from the Indian defenders. Later, Almoez Ali and Yousuf Abdurisag extended the lead in the second half. India had their chances but they weren't clinical enough in front of goal.
Qatar's highest goal-scorer
Almoez scored a wonderful goal early on in the second half to extend his international tally to 47 goals for Qatar. He scored four goals in the previous game against Afghanistan and therefore he is the top scorer in the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers with five goals from only two games. Overall, he has scored 47 goals in 95 matches.
India's unbeaten run at home comes to an end
India were unbeaten for 15 straight games at home which now comes to an end with this defeat against Qatar. The Blue Tigers last lost on home soil back in September 2019 in a 2-1 defeat against Oman in Guwahati in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers round 2. They were unbeaten at home this year with some exceptional results against Kuwait and Lebanon.
Dominant Qatar extend perfect record against India
Qatar have registered their third win over India with this 3-0 victory India and Qatar have met four times and Sunil Chhetri's men have only earned a 0-0 draw back in 2019. Qatar defeated India 6-0 in 1996 followed by a 1-0 victory in 2021.
Stimac made many changes to the Indian team
India headed into this game with a 1-0 win over Kuwait away from home. However, Igor Stimac made many changes to the starting lineup. Amrinder Singh started in goal instead of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu while Subhasish Bose got the nod in defence. Sahal Abdul Samad had to make way for Anirudh Thapa in midfield while Lallianzuala Chhangte and Udanta Singh started.
How did the match pan out?
Mashal gave Qatar the early lead in the fourth minute as he found the ball in the box after the defenders failed to clear their lines. Amrinder had a busy first half as India missed two glorious chances to equalize. In the second half, Akram Afif and Almoez combined with the latter making it 2-0. Later, Abdurisag heads home from Mohammed Waad's cross.
India remain in the second spot momentarily
India started with a win over Kuwait while Qatar thumped Afghanistan 8-1 in the opening fixture of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. India have three points after two matches in the second spot behind Qatar (six points). Meanwhile, Kuwait will face Afghanistan later tonight.
