India's FIFA World Cup qualifiers postponed: Details here
The Indian men football team's next FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Qatar has been postponed. According to a report in GOAL, the new date will be announced sometime next week. The second-round 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers, which was scheduled to be held in March and June 2020, has also been postponed. Here are further details.
Health of all individuals the prime focus
"For both FIFA and the AFC, the well-being and health of all individuals involved in football matches remains the highest priority, and as such, a formal proposal to postpone upcoming matches in the Asian FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will now be shared with the relevant member associations. FIFA and the AFC will provide an update on these fixtures."
India's match to be played at a later date
The Indian team was scheduled to host Qatar in the sixth match of the qualifying round on March 26 but the match will now be played at a later date. This is due to the fear of the coronavirus which has caused a worldwide catastrophe.
COVID-19: FIFA will continue to monitor the situation
FIFA is set to monitor the situation and will constantly be in touch with WHO. "FIFA will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), the confederations and the member associations. Information on other international matches may be provided by the relevant confederation or member association,"read a statement from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
No national camp to be held this month
With the game against Qatar postponed, there will be no national camp held this month. Earlier this week, Indian national team head coach Igor Stimac had summoned 23 players for a camp that starts on March 9. He has also called up another 20 players to join on March 16, 2020, after the conclusion of the Indian Super League season.
How have India fared in the qualifiers?
India are winless and have registered three draws after five rounds of fixtures in Group E. Qatar, who are unbeaten, are leading the group with 13 points and Oman are second with 12.
