Controversial Goal Mars India Vs Qatar Football Clash In 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC Qualifiers – WATCH

Doha: A controversial goal marred India’s final group encounter against Qatar in the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC Qualifiers as the Sunil Chhetri-less Blue Tigers lost 1-2 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. Lallianzuala Chhangte gave India the lead on 37 minutes. The controversy arose during Qatar’s equalizer in the 73rd minute.

After the ball went out of the play, Qatar defender Hashmi Al Hussain pulled the ball from outside before Yousef Aymen pushed the ball inside the goal. Ahmed Al-Rawi scored the winner five minutes from time to win the game for Qatar. Unfortunately, the referee continued with the game, thus drawing severe backlash from all quarters.

Poor refereeing and Kuwait’s 1-0 win against Afghanistan in another Group A game, robbed India of a chance to secure a historic entry into the third round of Qualifiers. While Qatar had already qualified for the third round, Kuwait joined Asian champions in the next round.

#IndianFootball rigged
India vs Qatar pic.twitter.com/g0esjvBst6

— Jerry John Varghese (@JerryJohnVargh1) June 11, 2024

Playing barely five days after the international retirement of arguably the country’s greatest footballer Sunil Chhetri, not many gave the beleaguered 121-ranked side a chance, but Igor Stimac’s wards turned the tables in style and looked on course after Chhangte’s strike.

Chhangte, the 27-year-old winger from Mizoram’s Lunglei, struck the ball accurately into the bottom corner after a diagonal pass from Brandon Fernandes. Having received the ball, he made no mistake in outsmarting his marker and broke the deadlock to silence the backers of the fancied hosts at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

It was redemption of sorts for Chhangte as he found the back of the net after failing to convert two chances created by Brandon. The strike also made Chhangte India’s highest-scoring active player with 8 goals. A good number of Indian supporters also made their way into the venue and at times outperformed the home crowd when it came to cheering after Chhangte’s strike.

Before Chhangte struck, Manvir Singh had a great chance to put India ahead but failed to finish the task. This was after Qatar wasted a chance to draw first blood thanks to a brilliant save by Mehtab Singh, who got down to clear the ball from crossing the line. For the record, this is the first time Qatar have trailed in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers so far.