How did India fare in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers?

It was a bittersweet qualifying campaign for the national team

Indian men’s football team kick starts its 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign with fixtures against Kuwait and Qatar in the upcoming international break in November 2023. The Blue Tigers play Kuwait on 16 November at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City. Their fixture against Qatar, the hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will take place on 21 November at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. 

India is in Group A of the second round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers from the AFC region with Afghanistan being the fourth team. The top two teams from the group will go into the third round and Igor Stimac’s objective will be to motivate his players to punch above their weight in the forthcoming matches. 

The grand occasion also presents a perfect opportunity to glance at India’s past performances in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The country has grown in terms of the quality of football. Here is a look at how India fared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers:

Who did India face in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers?

Indian men’s football team found itself in Group 8 of the first round of qualifiers. They were to contest for the top spot against the likes of United Arab Emirates, Brunei and Yemen. The aim was to finish as group winners and advance into the second round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

United Arab Emirates was the favourite nation from Group 8 to move into the second round but they almost fumbled. Sukhwinder Singh oversaw India’s 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign and almost guided the side to the second round of the qualification process. 

How India’s 2002 qualifying campaign go?

India began the 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers journey with a marvellous 1-0 win over favourites United Arab Emirates courtesy of Jules Alberto’s solitary goal. Their next fixture ended in a 1-1 draw with Yemen where Bhaichung Bhutia scored for India. A defeat to UAE (1-0) followed and then another draw with Yemen (3-3) took place where Jo Paul Ancheri scored a brace and IM Vijayan scored India’s third.

India went on to win both of their clashes with Brunei, thanks to 1-0 and 5-0 scorelines respectively. Unfortunately for the Blue Tigers, they finished third in the group standings, tied with Yemen in second place at 11 points. United Arab Emirates secured the top spot by a single point which resulted in India’s elimination from the 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign. 

As for the UAE, they finished in second place in Group B of the third round of qualifiers. They met Iran in the AFC Playoffs fixture and lost by 4-0 over the two legs. Iran went on to lose their Inter-confederation play-offs against Republic of Ireland by 2-1 over the two legs. South Korea and Japan entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup as hosts while China and Saudi Arabia accompanied them as the other two nations.

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