Win some, lose some: A tale of India’s two World Cup qualifiers

Daman Singh

Chandigarh, November 22

Igor Stimac’s assessment after the 1-0 win over Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 joint qualifiers — India’s first on foreign soil in 22 years — was spot on. Urging his players to not wallow in the aftermath of the win, it seemed as if he foreknew what lay ahead in the form of Qatar.

An air of fearlessness had been surrounding the Indian team, given its stupendous 15-game unbeaten run at home this year, and the Kuwait high only added to the confidence.

However, Stimac’s fears came to life on Tuesday as India suffered a 0-3 loss to the Asian champions, highlighting the gulf in class between the two sides.

Overall, I am happy because the result (against Qatar) was not our priority. My priority as a coach was to get answers to some questions which were haunting me for some time. I have my answers and this was a huge win out of this game. —Igor Stimac, India coach

This was also the last bit of action for the Blue Tigers ahead of their dreaded Australia tie at the Asian Cup in January.

Change for the worse?

Sunil Chhetri and Co. went into the match against Qatar with a lot of positivity following their courageous display against Kuwait, a side they had faced for the third time in a span of four months.

A total of five changes were made to the line-up from the Kuwait match.

Stimac was naturally inclined to pick a defensive side given the firepower in Qatar’s Almoez Ali-led forward line. And so he did, with Subhasish Bose replacing Akash Mishra as left-back, Sahal Abdul Samad making way for Anirudh Thapa in centre of the park, Udanta Singh replacing Mahesh Singh Naorem and Lallianzuala Chhangte filling in for the injured Manvir Singh on the flanks. But Amrinder Singh’s inclusion at the expense of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the star of the 0-0 draw four years ago in Doha, was startling.

Stimac would go on to explain his course of action later in the press conference, saying he “was looking for some answers to the questions haunting him”. “And as you already know, when we’re not having any more games prior to the game against Australia, I have all my answers and due to this huge remount of this game, I have a clearer picture and clarity of what needs to be done,” he would say.

Whatever the reason, the decision backfired incredibly as Amrinder never looked comfortable with the ball at his feet and one of his misplaced passes almost gave Qatar the lead in the second minute.

To be in control of their destiny, India had to be in control of their nerves. Instead, the nerves frayed as early as in the fourth minute as the defence line, led by Sandesh Jhingan, failed to clear another early attack and Moustafa Tarek Mashal scored.

Unlike the Kuwait match, India were also missing the spark in the attacking third which Mishra, Naorem, Samad, Chhangte and Nikhil Poojary had created in tandem with Chhetri while going forward. Mishra and Poojary, the two full-backs, were especially crucial to India’s plans against Kuwait.

Both played higher up the flanks and their constant overlapping forays allowed Naorem — and his substitute Chhangte — and Manvir to drift in closer to Chhetri. And it was Chhangte’s brilliance, fuelled by Mishra on the left, which led to the goal.

Though Poojary was there, Mishra was acutely missed against Qatar as Bose is far less adventurous. This was diametrically opposite of what India had faced against Kuwait — they were allowed to settle on the ball and create chances at whim. Kuwait weren’t able to create a single real chance in the first half, while India had already come close through Chhetri.

Being up against a mighty Qatar, with India parked in their own half for most of the time, battered by an avalanche of attacks, also meant the Indians had to take the handful of opportunities whenever they would present itself.

In came Naorem in the 46th minute for an unimpressive Udanta as India looked to whip up some chances, but were dealt a blow the very next minute as Ali bundled it in. Accordingly, Samad was brought on for Thapa, who had earlier missed a glorious chance to pull one back. Moments after Samad’s arrival, he got a brilliant chance, too. Following a lofted Suresh Wangjum delivery, Samad found himself inside the area but he shot a scuffed left-footed drive which went wide of the far bottom right corner. And that was that for India, for Qatar finished them off in the 86th minute.

‘Asian Cup not important’

It can be accepted that Stimac wanted to try out a few things, but his words at the post-match presser could sting the Indian football fraternity. Stimac put more emphasis on qualifiers than the Asian Cup. His comments can have interesting repercussions, considering his recent run-ins with the AIFF, but he isn’t the one to budge. “For us the most important thing is the World Cup qualifiers. Knowing that we are not going to get enough time for the Asian Cup, I don’t consider the Asian Cup as such an important tournament for us,” he asserted.