Bolstered by the return of Jeakson Singh and Anwar Ali, the Indian soccer group will renew its quest for a maiden entry into the third spherical of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers when it faces a weakened Afghanistan on Thursday. With mid-field normal Jeakson and centre-back Anwar again within the line-up after lengthy harm layoffs, due to which India suffered in latest previous, the Blue Tigers will fancy their probabilities towards the lower-ranked opponents within the second-round preliminary joint qualification match.
With three factors and one win from two matches, India presently occupy the second place within the Group A pecking order. Reigning Asian champions Qatar lead the standings with six factors from two wins, whereas Kuwait are second with one win. Having misplaced each their video games to this point, Afghanistan are positioned final.
India’s away win towards Kuwait has put Igor Stimac’s group in a robust place to progress additional within the qualification cycle, one thing the 117-ranked aspect has by no means achieved. Victories of their upcoming outings (away and residential) towards the 158-ranked Afghanistan will assist India purchase 9 factors and with Qatar anticipated to win their subsequent two matches towards Kuwait, the Blue Tigers have an actual likelihood of leaping to second place within the standings. (UEFA Champions League 2024 Draw: Real Madrid Face Manchester City; PSG Get FC Barcelona In Quarterfinals, Check Full List Here)
India defeated Kuwait (1-0) in Kuwait City of their opening match of the qualifiers, earlier than shedding to Qatar (0-3) in Bhubaneswar. Since their first-ever assembly means again in 1949, India and Afghanistan have met recurrently and the regional rivalry has not run its course even after the latter left SAFF in 2016. The face-off continued within the World Cup Qualifiers, Asian Cup Qualifiers and different continental and invitational tournaments, with India having their nostril forward on most events.
Checkout the livestreaming particulars of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Game Between India and Afghanistan:
Where is the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers recreation between Afghanistan and India going down?
The FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match between Afghanistan and India will likely be performed on the Damac Stadium, Abha, Saudi Arabia, on 22 March 2024 (Friday).
When will the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Afghanistan and India be performed?
The FIFA World Cup Qualifier match will likely be performed at 12:30 AM IST.
Where will the FIFA World Cup Qualifier recreation between Afghanistan and India be telecasted?
The FIFA World Cup Qualifier recreation will likely be telecasted on the DD Sports TV channel.
Where will the FIFA World Cup Qualifier recreation between Afghanistan and India be live-streamed?
The FIFA World Cup Qualifier recreation will likely be live-streamed on FanCode.
Nevertheless, the Afghans have all the time been a troublesome opposition to beat, preventing until the ultimate whistle. Nobody on this Indian squad can inform about Afghanistan higher than the evergreen Sunil Chhetri, who’s going robust at 39 and will likely be spearheading the visiting assault alongside Manvir Singh, who discovered the web within the group’s win towards Kuwait.
Chhetri’s file towards the neighbours is sort of spectacular, scoring 4 objectives in eight matches together with a spectacular strike from a free kick in Kolkata in 2022.
“They have progressively improved from when we met them for the first time,” stated Chhetri.
“The games were comfortable, but slowly and steadily, they progressed. And because of being in the same region, the rivalry also generated. Hence, the games became quite close. Both India and Afghanistan have improved in the last decade or so. Having players who play outside has really helped them,” he added.
While Sunil Chhetri stays his greatest participant, Stimac needs to be no much less thrilled with the return of Jeakson and Anwar. Jeakson has performed a pivotal position for the Blue Tigers within the final two years, and featured in 17 consecutive matches from the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in June 2022 till the King’s Cup in Thailand final September. His significance might be gauged by Stimac labelling him as one of many greatest misses within the squad for the Asian Cup in Qatar.
What additionally makes India favourites within the recreation is the absence of some key Afghanistan gamers, who’ve been at loggerheads with the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) since accusing the game physique of indulging in corruption, together with match-fixing.
As the second spherical of qualifiers began, issues between the Afghanistan gamers and the AFF began rising. As many as 18 gamers boycotted the qualifiers towards Kuwait and Qatar, leaving the aspect with few first-team gamers for the outing towards Mongolia, whom the Lions of Khorasan defeated to progress to the second spherical. Still, gamers akin to Zohib Islam Amiri, Omid Musawi and Balal Arezou will look to trigger issues for India.
The outcomes towards Kuwait and Qatar in June would be the actual indicator of the Indian soccer group’s prospects of creating a maiden look within the third spherical of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, head coach Igor Stimac stated on Wednesday.
“Each game is important from the aspect of self-confidence and rankings. But our priority and the final goal is to qualify for Round 3. There are various options to get there and obviously, nothing will be decided in the next two games. The matches in June against Kuwait and Qatar will tell us everything,” Stimac stated.
This would be the fourth time in 5 years that India will face Afghanistan in an official match. The two conferences within the World Cup Qualifiers in 2019 and 2021 ended 1-1 every, whereas India ran out 2-1 winners within the Asian Cup Qualifiers in 2022 in Kolkata, due to Sahal Abdul Samad’s added-time strike.
The Indians arrived right here on March 15 and have had 5 full coaching classes forward of the match, acclimatising to the circumstances within the mountain metropolis, which is 2,470 metres above sea stage.
“We have been training normally as usual. We came here earlier so the boys can adapt to the different climate in Abha, and things look okay at the moment,” stated the Croat.
Stimac’s counterpart and Afghanistan head coach Ashley Westwood is aware of Indian soccer all too properly, having coached Bengaluru FC, ATK, and RoundGlass Punjab FC. He took cost of the Afghanistan nationwide group final November, proper earlier than the World Cup Qualifiers kicked off.
“Ashley knows most of our boys quite well and has been preparing his team for us since the Asian Cup,” stated Stimac.
“A few months back they had a camp in Abha to work on their game plan and played a friendly with a local team here. But we are sure they will be a much better side than what we have seen in their opening games,” he added.
India skipper Sunil Chhetri, who received two I-League titles and a Federation Cup enjoying beneath Westwood at Bengaluru FC, shared his ideas on the Afghanistan aspect.
“They will play like a unit, they will be aggressive, they will know exactly what they have to do because that’s how Ashley Westwood is. But I think it’s more about us. We are here right in the corner of Saudi Arabia and we really have to bounce back after what happened in the Asian Cup. It’s not going to be easy. We have to turn up,” stated Chhetri.
With three factors and one win from two matches, India presently occupy the second place within the Group A pecking order. Reigning Asian champions Qatar lead the Group A standings with six factors from two wins, whereas Kuwait are second with one win. Having misplaced each their video games to this point, Afghanistan are positioned final.
India’s away win towards Kuwait has put Igor Stimac’s group in a robust place to progress additional within the qualification cycle, one thing the 117-ranked aspect has by no means achieved.
Victories of their upcoming outings (away and residential) towards the 158-ranked Afghanistan will assist India purchase 9 factors and with Qatar anticipated to win their subsequent two matches towards Kuwait, the Blue Tigers have an actual likelihood of leaping to second place within the standings. India defeated Kuwait (1-0) in Kuwait City of their opening match of the qualifiers, earlier than shedding to Qatar (0-3) in Bhubaneswar.
