India eyes number three in FIFA WC qualifiers, will face Afghanistan
[ad_1]
Buoyed by the return of Jackson Singh and Anwar Ali, the Indian football team will be eyeing a place in the third round when it faces Afghanistan in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.
Jackson in midfield and Anwar in center back are returning after a long time due to injury. India are expected to have the upper hand over their lower-ranked opponent in the second round preliminary joint qualification match. India are currently second in Group A with three points from one win in two matches. Current Asian champion Qatar is on top with six points with two wins. The Afghanistan team, which has lost both the matches, is in last place.
By registering a win against Kuwait, Igor Stimac’s Indian team has raised hopes of going to the third round for the first time. By defeating Afghanistan, ranked 158th in the world rankings (home and away matches), the 117th-ranked Indian team will gain nine points. If Qatar team beats Kuwait in the next two matches, then India will have a chance to reach second place. India defeats Kuwait in Kuwait City 1. Was defeated by 0 while Kuwait in Bhubaneswar by 3. Won by 0.
Since the first match between India and Afghanistan in 1949, both the teams have been playing from time to time. They have faced each other in World Cup qualifiers, Asian Cup qualifiers and other subcontinental and invitational tournaments. The Indian attack will be led by 39-year-old Sunil Chhetri and Manvir Singh. Chhetri has scored four goals in eight matches against Afghanistan. In the last two years, Jackson has played 17 consecutive matches. The team missed him during the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Many prominent players of Afghanistan are out of the tournament after accusing the Afghanistan Football Federation of corruption. 18 players of Afghanistan did not play the qualifiers against Kuwait and Qatar.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
[ad_2]
Source link
