India's World Cup qualifier against Qatar to be played on October 8
India will play its remaining World Cup Qualifiers in October and November, beginning proceedings by hosting Qatar on October 8. Sunil Chhetri and Co. were slated to play three matches, starting from March, but the Covid-19 pandemic situation forced the matches to be suspended and postponed.
While India was expected to fare well in the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers, they struggled throughout, drawing matches against low-lying Bangladesh and Afghanistan and losing twice to Oman. Even though they staged an unexpected away draw against Asian champions Qatar, the Blue Tigers were at the fourth spot in Group E when the qualifiers were suspended, having picked up just three points from five matches, only ahead of Bangladesh.
With three matches remaining to be played, India will host Qatar on October 8, reportedly and most likely at the Kalinga Stadium, in Bhubaneswar. Following that, Chhetri and Co. will travel to Bangladesh for an away tie on November 12. The final match will be played at home, against Afghanistan, on November 17, even though the venue for the match is yet to be announced.
Even though India have no chances of qualifying for the next rounds of the qualifiers, they can still finish third and enhance their chances of making it to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. With them scheduled to play against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, there are high chances to log full points from those games and finish third, behind Qatar and Oman.
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