Ratings: Chhangte silver lining as India lose to Qatar

The match witnessed India displaying a gritty outing and creating quite a few positive chances.

India saw their 15-game unbeaten streak at home snapped in their 3-0 loss to Qatar at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, in their second 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 2 clash. The Maroons put them under pressure from the get-go and took the lead in the 4th minute when Moustafa Mashal took advantage of some scrappy defending to slot one into the back of the net.

India went toe-to-toe after a shaky start and got a few big chances in the first half that were wasted. Qatar made them pay for it at the start of the second half, with Almoez Ali scoring the second in the 46th minute. Substitute Yusuf Abdurisag scored the third in the 86th minute to condemn India to a bitter loss.

Here are the Player Ratings for the game.

India (by Uttiyo Sarkar)

Amrinder Singh – 3.0

While he made a few nice saves, Amrinder couldn’t justify himself starting over Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Extremely error-prone with his passing, almost always gave the ball away in dangerous positions and conceded a sloppy second goal.

Nikhil Poojary – 3.0

Poojary had a nightmare defending against the energetic Akram Afif and was absolutely given a run-around on the right. Hardly able to keep up with Afif and lost his marker completely for the second goal.

Rahul Bheke – 5.5

Bheke was brave with his defensive work, making some key clearances to avoid trouble. Read Qatar’s moves well and put away a number of their chances in the box. Undid some of his great work by losing mark of Abdurisag for the third goal.

Sandesh Jhingan – 4.5

Jhingan failed to really hold together a stubborn backline and was often stretched out of his position by Qatar. Won a few key duels, but was run ragged and caught in bad positions on multiple occasions.

Subhasish Bose – 6.0

Bose had little attacking threat, but at least he defended diligently on the left. Made a few crucial clearances and blocks to neutralize Qatar’s threat through his side.

Suresh Singh – 4.5

Suresh was overwhelmed by the pressing and physicality of the Qatar midfielders and couldn’t help his side defensively much. Often made unnecessary fouls and was too aggressive for his own good. Created a nice chance for Sahal after the latter's introduction in the second half.

https://youtu.be/QUs1gFId5c8?si=Rr_u0MQckhwA-bIC

Apuia – 4.0

Apuia seemingly crumbled under pressure and failed to maintain his ice-cold demeanour on the pitch. Often gave away possession in bad positions and failed to create much with his passes. Missed a big chance in the first half.

Anirudh Thapa – 4.0

Thapa really struggled to move the ball forward smoothly and was often outwitted by the Qatar players. Created one decent chance for Apuia in the first half, but followed that with an awful miss from a promising area soon after.

Udanta Singh – 5.0

Failed to make a needed clearance before the opening goal and failed to help defensively. Made a few nice forward runs and linked up nicely with Thapa for Apuia’s big chance.  

Lallianzuala Chhangte – 7.0

Chhangte was probably the biggest threat to Qatar’s backline, as he made a number of surging forward runs and kept their defenders on the edge. Got the ball into promising areas but was overwhelmed in the final third.

Sunil Chhetri – 6.5

Chhetri had little service but ran his socks off to press the Qatar defenders and cause them to make errors. His impressive pressing led to him creating a prominent chance for Thapa in the first half which he missed.

https://twitter.com/KhelNow/status/1726984896034505080

Substitutes

Naorem Mahesh Singh – 6.0

Mahesh spent most of his time helping out defensively and couldn’t create much. Got a half chance to score, but saw his attempt blocked.

Sahal Abdul Samad – 6.5

Sahal added some positivity to the attack, as he glanced a shot just wide of the mark minutes after coming on. Set up a nice chance for Mahesh after that and moved the ball forward nicely.

Ishan Pandita – N/A

Had little goal-scoring threat and didn’t really get a clear-cut chance to do anything.

Rahul KP – N/A

Rahul added more energy and penetration through the right, but was not able to create anything big.

Lalchhununga – N/A

Came on for the last few minutes of the game.

Qatar (by Gourav Samal)

Meshal Barsham - 6.5

Meshal rarely had anything to do in the match as the possession was mostly held by the Qatar team. 

Pedro Correia - 7.5

Pedro had a brilliant game under his belt. More than defending at the back, he emerged as a major figure for the team in the middle of the park.  

Homam Ahmed - 7

Homam looked a bit sloppy towards the end of the first half but improved his game in the second and even blocked some of India’s attacks proficiently.

Ahmed Fathy Abdulla - 6.5

Fathy had a below par game as compared to his other teammates. Although he was good in picking the right man for the passes, he failed at times during long passes. 

Boualem Khoukhi - 7

Khoukhi controlled the ball in the midfield quite efficiently. He even created a number of chances at the start of the second half.

https://twitter.com/KhelNow/status/1726982198199484731

Hasan Al Haydos - 6.5

The captain controlled the game in the midfield quite well and guided the team time to time to keep the momentum with them, without shifting it to the opponent's end. 

Akram Afif - 7

Akram was Qatar's main man in the first half of play. He just kept the possession at their feet whenever he received the ball.

Lucas Mendes - 7.5

Lucas firmly defended in the backline and brilliantly managed the midfield at times.

Almoez Ali - 7

Ali grabbed a brilliant opportunity at the start of the second half to take Qatar's lead to 2-0. 

Tameem Abdulla - 6.5

Tameem looked a bit out of touch in the match which led to his substitution at the start of second half.

Moustafa Mashal - 7.5

Moustafa scored the first goal of the match in the 4th minute of play and gave Qatar an early lead in the match. 

Substitutes

Yusuf  Abdurisag - 7

Yusuf replaced Tameem at the start of second half and also scored a goal in the 85th minute of play.

Mohammed Muntari - 6.5

Muntari replaced Almoez, the second goal-scorer of the match. In the dying minutes of the game, he displayed his skills proficiently while trying to build an attacking game.

Jassem Abdulsallam - 6

Jassem replaced Moustafa but couldn’t replicate the energy Moustafa had injected in the game during his stay. 

Bassam Alrawi - N/A

Bassam got too little time to prove himself.