How did India fare in 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers?

India narrowly missed qualification to the next stage.

The Indian national team are set to kickstart their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in the upcoming international break. The Blue Tigers will take on Kuwait and Qatar in two challenging encounters to start their qualification journey.

India have not yet played in any edition of the FIFA World Cup in their history. They did qualify for the 1950 World Cup edition, but withdrew from the tournament prior to it. India have been regular members of the World Cup qualifiers over the decades and here we look into one of the earlier qualification campaigns where they were involved in.

The Blue Tigers had a pretty talented squad in the 1980s and were able to reserve a berth in the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification. At that time, the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) was only granted two spots from FIFA for the final tournament. As a result, only the cream of the crop could qualify for the World Cup.

Who did India face in 1986 World Cup qualifiers?

India were placed in the East Asia Zone of the qualifiers because of their position in Asia. They got placed in a tough group alongside Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh for the qualifiers. The qualifiers campaign at that time was similar to how it is now, with every team facing each other twice in the first round or group stages.

But unlike now, only one team could progress from their group that is the group winners. This was mostly due to the limited number of spots for the AFC meaning that every single team had to fight hard for qualification. It was much more difficult for teams to qualify for the World Cup than it is today.

Despite being placed in a tough group, the Indian national team put up an admirable fight in their group.  Reowned Indian football coach Arun Ghosh was the manager at that point and guided his side to produce some respectable performances in the qualifiers.

How India’s 1986 qualifying campaign went

India’s qualification campaign started off in disappointing fashion as they ended up suffering a loss to Indonesia away from home. Even though Indian football legend Krishanu Dey put the Indian side ahead with an instinctive strike in the 34th minute, India could not hold onto their advantage.

Indonesia star Bambang Nurdiansyah scored the equalizer only seven minutes later to bring the game level heading into the break. The hosts started the second half in blistering fashion, with Nurdiansyah scoring again four minutes into the second half. India were unable to give an answer to that and ended up suffering a narrow defeat.

The second game proved to be a really frustrating outing for the Blue Tigers. They would go onto play against Thailand away from home, but were unable to find their attacking spark on the day. Despite being defensively resolve against Thailand, India were unable to score and had to settle for a point after a goalless draw.

But they finally got their win in their third group game in the trip to Bangladesh. Striker Sisir Ghosh put his side in the lead in the 34th minute, but the resilient Bangladesh side equalized soon after through Ashraf Chunnu.

Just as it looked like this game would result in a draw too, midfielder Bikash Panji scored a great goal in the 84th minute that helped his side get their first win on the board. The Indian side were high on confidence heading into their remaining three qualifying games, which were all at home.

However, even home advantage at the Salt Lake Stadium couldn’t inspire them to go past the colossal Indonesia side. In the reverse fixture against them, Indonesia showcased great resiliency and the two teams were involved in a gritty battle. Indonesia took the lead through Dede Sulaiman in the 20th minute and the visitors turned into a stubborn defensive unit after that.

As defeat stared India in the face, forward Narender Thapa came up big to equalize in the 89th minute salvage a draw. The Blue Tigers would go on to play another 1-1 draw against Thailand in their next game, with Narasak Boonkleang’s 76th-minute goal being cancelled out by the brilliant Krishanu Dey in the 84th minute.

The Blue Tigers hosted Bangladesh in their final group game. The visitors took the lead in the 15th minute, but Bikash Panji equalized at the half-hour mark. Camilo Gonsalves helped his side take the lead in the 54th minute and India went on to end their qualifying campaign with a win.

However, they couldn’t win their group as they finished on 7 points – two less than eventual winners Indonesia. Despite producing a very admirable effort, the two draws at home ended up costing India and ended their qualification hopes early on.

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