World Cup qualifiers: Sunil Chhetri-led Indian football team hopes to punch above its weight against Asian Champs Qatar

The last time India grabbed a point from Qatar, the Gulf country created as many as 27 chances, the Indian defenders had to make 36 tackles and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a stunning 11 saves as India held the Asian champions to a goalless draw.

It was four years ago, in the second round of World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifiers. Much has happened since that game in Doha. A 10-man India lost their ‘home’ tie which had Doha as a centralised venue due to Covid restrictions, and the not-so-small matter of Qatar having hosted and played in a World Cup.

As the two teams meet again at the same stage of the qualifiers, this time in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, a lot has changed.

India too have gone from strength to strength under coach Igor Stimac, with the 1-0 win away at Kuwait last week a testimony to it. But it’s nothing compared to the spur in growth Qatar have seen, especially since successfully hosting the World Cup.

So when India host Qatar on Tuesday in their second match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2, it may seem like a battle of unequals but the hosts will go into the game with a belief that they can continue to punch above their weight.

Before harbouring hopes of an upset victory though, India must figure out how to get a shot at the Qatar goal. In both their previous games, the Blue Tigers haven’t managed a single shot on target. Indeed, they defended resolutely and the stats speak for themselves, but the game on Tuesday is much more than a qualifier — it’s more about how India stand against Asian heavyweights, keeping in mind the all-important AFC Asian Cup in January next year.

India have already shown a glimpse that they can go toe-to-toe against the