The Blue Tigers progress to the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying third round after their draw against Afghanistan…
India ended their 2022 World Cup qualifier campaign with a 1-1 draw against Afghanistan at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha and finished third in their group behind Qatar and Oman.
The Blue Tigers took the lead in the 75th minute of the match after Afghanistan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi accidentally sent the ball into his own net. But within just seven minutes, Hossein Zamani scored the equalising goal to restore parity in the match and seal a point for his team.
By finishing third in Group E, Igor Stimac’s side now directly progress to the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying third round.
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India end their campaign with four draws, three losses and one win from their eight matches. They have scored six goals and conceded only seven.
They had a very good opportunity to finish the group stage with a positive goal difference – which has been achieved only twice in history – had they won the tie but Zamani’s late goal spoiled India’s party.
How does the Group E look like?
| Team | Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 22 |
| Oman | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 15 |
| India | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 7 |
| Afghanistan | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 6 |
| Bangladesh | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 2 |
How did India do in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers?
India started their World Cup qualification run with a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Oman at home, followed by a historic goalless draw against Asian champions Qatar in Doha. In their third and fourth matches, the Blue Tigers managed 1-1 draws against both Bangladesh and Afghanistan and then they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Oman away from home.
They resumed their campaign against Qatar on June 3 and lost 1-0 but followed it up with a 2-0 win over Bangladesh. In their final match they managed a 1-1 draw against Afghanistan.
