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As India entered the final quarter of the pivotal clash against Qatar, they were leisurely strolling through with a 1-0 lead in Doha, edging closer to an unprecedented spot in the third round of the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. But football isn't always the great leveler as many believe. It's cruel, it's unjust, and on Tuesday, the Blue Tigers figured out why.
A glaring oversight from the linesman allowed Qatar to retrieve a ball that had clearly gone out of play, leading to an eventual goal against India. Throughout the match, whenever the ball threatened the Indian net, a defender was there to clear it away. But the erroneous decision took them out of contention, leveling the scores.
Despite the protests, the referees stood by their decision, leaving Igor Stimac's men reeling from the shock, and they soon conceded a second goal.
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India dominated the first half against Qatar
Setting down the tone beyond the Sunil Chhetri era, Igor Stimac completely revamped his starting lineup and tactical formation for the fixture. The Croatian opted for a three-back system, with Anwar Ali and Rahul Bheke, starting alongside Mehtab Singh.
In the 12th minute, Mehtab Singh was thrust into action when Mohamed Gouda outmaneuvered Jay Gupta and fired a low cross to Ahmed Alrawi. With the forward posied to score, the Mumbai City stopper heroically threw himself in the way, making an outstanding goal-line block and preserving the parity.
While India's backline held strong, familiar issues resurfaced in the final third. Hastiness, overcooked passes, and underconfident forwards spelled trouble for India’s attacking play.
But the second-string Qatari side was bound to fumble, and they did right after the drinks break. Losing possession in the final third, the hosts allowed Manvir Singh to charge into the box, only for his low strike to be deftly parried away by goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy. The gilt-edge opportunity was still alive as the rebound fell for Lallianzuala Chhangte, however, before he could unleash an effort on target, a perfectly-timed tackle from behind took the ball away from him.
For Qatar, it seemed like a sigh of relief, but for the Blue Tigers, it was a realization of the chinks in the armor of the Asian champions. And almost immediately, revitalized, India struck. The visitors ramped up the pressure on the Qatari backline and maneuvered possession in the final third. Brandon Fernandes, spotting Chhangte making a penetrating run into the penalty area, whipped his magical right boot. The weighted pass rolled perfectly into Chhangte's path, and the prolific forward needed no second invitation to bury it home.
Cheers engulfed the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, cheers erupted through the shackles of despair that had consumed Indian football for the past week. The Stimac-coached outfit had taken the lead when few would've expected them to.
But the Qatari colts were not ready to fade away. They eyed an immediate response with a long-distance shot, but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the newly crowned skipper after Chhetri's departure, palmed it away to safety. The message was clear: a one-goal lead was far from secure.
Refereeing howler in the second half wipes away India's narrow lead
Qatar had been outplayed by the visitors in the first 45 minutes and Tintin Marquez, emerging after the break, responded with three changes. Ali Nader replaced Ellethy between the sticks, while Khalid Sabah and Homam Ahmed replenished their vigor in the middle of the park. The start of the second half, quite like the first, saw another extraordinary goal-line block from Mehtab Singh, as he thwarted away a goal-bound effort from Alhassan.
In the 57th minute, Qatar had another chance when Gouda made a run to the back post from a corner. He found himself with a free header, but his effort bounced off the surface and sailed over Gurpreet's goal.
Yet, the Blue Tigers had decided to rest on their laurels, rather than pushing for the elusive second goal. It was a perilous ploy but India were kept alive thanks to incessant defending from their backline. An unsettling aura of invincibility enveloped them, one that would thwart any blunder on the horizon.
But who says the error needed to come from the Indian players for their fortress to crumble? Reverting the brilliant work from India's backline, making Mehtab's body-aching blocks futile, sending in vain Gurpreet's inch-perfect dives, aided by a refereeing blunder, Qatar equalized the proceedings in the 75th minute.
After Gurpreet parried away a headed attempt from Youssef Ayman, the ball trickled out of play. However, while the Indian players paused, expecting a whistle, none came. Al Hassan, not caring for the helpless opponents, retrieved the ball and passed it to Aymen, who promptly scored. The Indian protest fell on deaf ears as the referee, after consulting his assistant, allowed the goal to stand. Later, multiple replays showed the ball having gone out of play, but there was no VAR to overturn the decision.
India were robbed of a fair outcome, and in minutes they dreaded they would robbed of the elusive third-round spot. When it rains it pours, and it did. Still grappling with the misfortune of conceding the controversial goal, the Blues conceded a second. Alrawi seized the ball at the edge of the Indian box. With a swift cut inside, he unleashed a curler that found the bottom corner and left Gurpreet comprehensively beaten.
The eyes of Indian supporters flickered to the other screen where Kuwait hosted Afghanistan. With scores still level in that tie, Stimac's side needed just a draw to secure their advancement. But oh, the pouring never stopped! Eid Al Rashidi stabbed home the winner for Kuwait in the 81st minute.
Despite seven additional minutes added on after regulation time, India found themselves too distraught to conjure a Real Madrid-esque comeback. Stimac threw in all available attacking options, but their spirits had been shattered. With the final whistle, India's World Cup Qualifier run came to a close, pushing them to third in the Group A standings.
Now, the optimists will blame the linesman's howler, while the critics will emphasize on the abysmal performances against Afghanistan. Yet, once the finger-pointing ceases, what will remain is a palpable cloud of uncertainty that has engulfed Indian football.
