The last time the two teams met in September 2019, India had held the Asian champions to a goalless draw. Courtesy the result, India stay on three points from six matches, while Qatar sit pretty on top of Group E with 19 points from seven matches.

Qatar, as they are wont to, played it amongst themselves right from the kick-off in their effort to find spaces through the Indian midfield. They earned their first corner in the second minute but the shot from Abdelkarim Hassan sailed over.

The very next minute, the Asian champions had their first shy at the Indian goal but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu dived low to his right to collect Abdel Aziz Hatim’s grounder.

The Blue Tigers did sniff a counter in the seventh minute when Manvir Singh latched on to a loose ball and laid off it for Bipin Singh on the left flank, but the latter was not able to find anybody with his cross.

The first yellow card of the evening was flashed to Rahul Bheke on the eighth minute for a tackle on rival captain Hassal Al Haydos. 10 minutes later, the impact was larger – Bheke was given marching orders after receiving his second yellow card of the match for a handball offence. The resultant vicious curler from Haydos was punched away by Gurpreet.

In between Sunil did chest a long ball in the 11th minute but was shielded by Musaab Khidir even as he acrobatically tried to have a connect. Manvir did manage collect it and tried to make an inroad, but was thwarted.

With India down to 10 men, Qatar’s domination further increased. Suresh Singh moved into the vacant slot left over after Bheke was red-carded, and the youngster stuck to the basics, pressing hard and was not overawed, given the fact that he was fighting it out with the two of the best from the continent – Al Haydos and AbdelKarim.

India had their first real chance in the 29th minute when Ashique Kuruniyan managed to slip past his marker and essayed it behind the defensive line for an onrushing Manvir. But the striker’s touch let him down from what was a clear chance for India.

Five minutes later, Qatar surged into the lead. Abdelkarim found Almoez Ali inside the box, who turned and laid it off for Abdel Aziz. The jungle of legs didn’t allow the latter to have a clear shot on goal, but he being allowed the luxury of that that extra split second, Abdel Aziz managed to send it past Gurpreet.

Qatar dominated, India pressed and kept it compact. A counter on the 42nd minute, however, almost led to the equaliser. Sunil, with all his experience, shielded Bassam Alrawi as he found Manvir. The lanky forward, sidestepped, went on the outside, and then swivelled the other way to open up a left footer, but this shot was blocked by a melee of Qatari legs.

The Blue Tigers had a close shave in added time, this time Gurpreet keeping AbdelKarim at bay, as Qatar headed into the interval with a solitary goal lead. However, it didn’t end on a sweet note for India in the first half, as Head Coach Igor Stimac was flashed a yellow card.

Changing over, Udanta Singh came in for Sunil Chhetri, the armband being worn by Sandesh Jhingan. And almost immediately after, Gurpreet had to be at his best to thwart Abdel Karim from point-blank range.

Six minutes later, he palmed away a snap shot off Mohammed Muntari who with a swift turn had foxed everyone in the box.

There was no doubting Qatar’s total dominance, and they earned a barrage of corners during the phase but they couldn’t create the impact they intended to.

Meanwhile, Gurpreet’s heroics continued. His physical presence, those big hands, reflexes and attitude as he fisted, punched, and even used his legs to maximum effect to thwart Qatar.

In the 68th minute, Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte replaced debutant Glan Martins, and then in the 75th minute Akash Misra came in for Bipin Singh. Apuia was calm and kept moving into the vacant spaces to provide support whenever India had possession. One such occasion came in the 76^th minute when Apuia and Akash played a one-two and laid it for Ashique. But the latter couldn’t keep it in the slot for either Udanta or Manvir – the rival defence intercepting it.

The next minute, Almoez Ali was yellow carded for bringing down Suresh Singh from behind.

Stimac introduced a double substitution in the 84th minute, Abdul Sahal coming in for Ashique and Liston Colaco replacing Suresh.

Qatar had their best chance of the second half with about four minutes of regulation time left on the clock, when substitute Abdullah Alahraq rifled a long-ranger onto the near post. However, the ball ricocheted and went out of play. Sandesh Jhingan made a one last effort to launch a counter for India in injury time as he charged down the pitch and tried to play Manvir Through on goal. However, a last-ditch tackle by the Qatari defence meant that the match ended in the latter’s favour.

CREDITS- AIFF MEDIA

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Also Read: 5 Key Battles to watch out for in India vs Qatar

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DATE: 03/06/2021

TIME: 10:30 PM (IST)

VENUE: JASSIM BIN HAMMAD STADIUM, DOHA.

TV BROADCAST: STAR SPORTS CHANNELS, HOTSTAR and JIO TV.

PROBABLE XI:

INDIA- Amrinder Singh, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Akash Mishra, Rowlin Borges, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sunil Chettri.

QATAR- Saad Al Sheeb, Bassam Al-Rawi, Boualem Khoukhi, Tarek Salman, Pedro Miguel, Hassan Al-Haydos, Karim Boudiaf, Abdulaziz Hatem, Abdelkarim Hassan, Md Muntari, Almoez Ali.

HEAD TO HEAD:

 India vs Qatar 1998 WC Qualifier: 0-6

India vs Qatar 2022 WC Qualifier: 0-0

KEY ASPECTS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

• India has a fully fit squad, so Igor Stimac has many choices for his playing XI as he definitely needs a good result with his job on the line.
• Qatar also takes on a robust 28-men squad. They have won five out of six games in the Qualifiers till now, and the single draw came against India.
• The Blue Tigers will aim to score as many points as possible. Although India has missed their chance to qualify for the World Cup, there are still chances for Asian Cup Qualification.
• In contrast, Qatar’s motivation will be to finish on top of the table. Also, they will look to have some game time and keep their players ready for the CONCACAF Gold Cup ahead.

 MANAGER’S QUOTES:

 Felix Sanchez (Coach Qatar National Team) – We are going to face a team that has a good coach (Igor Stimac). The way they play (in counter-attack) will be difficult for us. They had a good game (against Oman) until the last few minutes. They remain compact, and if we have to win, then we must play good football. But we are confident to have a good performance.”

Igor Stimac (Coach Indian National Team) – “Qatar is such a great team, the best in Asia. We need to work harder to get continuous success against better sides. It will be a very difficult game for us.”

AUTHOR’S TAKE:

 India will look to earn a point at least, as they did in the last game against them, but if we compare both the teams on paper, Qatar is stronger!

For Trial related updates: Latest trials updates in Mumbai Football

Also Read: 5 Key Battles to watch out for in India vs Qatar

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The last time when India played Qatar, they made history by keeping a clean sheet.

Let us have a look at some of the key battles to watch out for in India vs Qatar:

#1 Brandon Fernandes vs Abdulaziz Hatem- (Md vs Md)

This was the battle we saw some days before when FC Goa played against Al Rayyan in the AFC Champions League.

Brandon is the only player this year for India who has given assists in the World Cup Qualifiers. His presence in the team always makes a difference, which he also showed for his club FC Goa, when he made history by assisting the first goal for an Indian club in the AFC Champions League.

On the other hand, Hatem is no less of a threat to the opponent. Alongside his defensive duties, he helps his team with goals and assists . He has five goals and three assists to his name in the Qatar Stars League.

A fair contest awaits  FC Goa’s attacking midfielder lock horns against  Al Rayyan’s defensive midfielder.

#2 Sandesh Jhingan vs Al Haydos- (Df vs Fw) 

Arguably, one of the best defenders in India is Sandesh Jhingan.! He showed his class again this year in the ISL with his club ATK Mohun Bagan where his side kept the most clean sheets of the season. Sandesh and the other Indian defenders can become a big mountain to climb for the Qatari attackers.

In contrast, the captain of the Qatar national team Hassan Al Haydos, one of the most influential players on Qatar’s side who always creates enormous problems for the defenders. Al Haydos plays for Al Sadd. The team is managed by Barcelona legend Xavi. Haydos has two goals and nine assists to his name in the Qatar Stars League.

#3 Sunil Chettri vs Boulem Khouki- (Fw vs Df) 

The battle everyone will be most excited about—the face-off between Indian centre-forward and Qatari centre-defender. 

The highest goal-scorer and the captain of the Indian side, Sunil Chettri, can be a severe problem for any defence. He is not in his greatest form as we saw a disappointing campaign for his side Bengaluru in the ISL, but for the national side, Chettri is always ravenous than ever!

On the other side, another player from Al-Sadd, the champions of the Qatar Stars League, is defender Boulem Khouki. A complete package for any team, who can defend, score and assist. Till now, in Qatar’s six games in the World Cup Qualifiers, he has scored a goal and managed four clean sheets.

#4 Pritam Kotal vs Akram Afif- (Rb vs Lw) 

A fight between a left-winger and a right-back is never dull. Pritam Kotal plays as a right-back defender for India and ATK Mohun Bagan, a team in the ISL with the most clean sheets. The wall he creates with his fellow defenders is challenging to break for any side.

Whereas, on this side, the third player on our list who plays for Al-Sadd is Akram Afif. He has been in exceptional form across the season, where he has five goals and seven assists (in 11 appearances ) in Qatar Stars League and four goals (in 6 appearances) in the World Cup Qualifiers.

Keeping Akram on the bay will be one of the primary tasks for Pritam.

#5 Amrinder Singh vs Al Sheeb (Gk vs Gk) 

The final battle on our list is between the goalkeeper’s – Amrinder Singh and Al-Sheeb.

Amrinder Singh, the captain of Mumbai City FC, has a slight edge over Gurpreet Singh of featuring in the Qatar game as he had an incredible season winning both the ISL Shield and Trophy! Amrinder managed nine clean sheets in 20 games, so netting the ball in front of him can be difficult for the Qatari’s.

On the other hand we have the prolific Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb who also plays for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup winner Al Sadd SC. He will use all his experience of 65 international games to stop the Indian attacks!

This battle will be a treat to watch, as both of them will try their best to keep a clean sheet!

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Also Read: Top Scorers of I-League from 2007-2021

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