Qatar 2-1 India: Horror Referee Call Ends India's Hopes for FIFA World Cup 2026!

India played out of their skins in their first game of the post-Sunil Chettri era, leading the Asian Champions 1-0 until the 73rd minute. However a horror referee call helped Qatar equalize and later go on to score the winner as India were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

Eventually, even a draw wouldn't have saved India as Kuwait beat Afghanistan 1-0 in the other game of this group to pick up all three points and finish second in the table. The 2-1 loss to Qatar pulled India down to the third spot, ending their hopes to qualify for the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.

How Group A ended:

1) Qatar - 16 pts

2) Kuwait - 7 pts

3) India - 5 pts

4) Afghanistan - 5 pts