Re-capping the past meetings between India and Afghanistan

The two teams have met quite a few times over the years.

India and Afghanistan will play their final match against each other in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers. The game will be held in Doha on June 15, 2021. Both outfits will hope to end the qualifiers on a high, as there is still a lot at stake. Blue Tigers head coach Igor Stimac will hope his men can replicate their last match’s performance which saw them win against Bangladesh.

Afghanistan come into this fixture after losing against Oman by a 1-2 scoreline, which was a huge setback to their objective of finishing third in Group E. As for the Indians, a draw will suffice in the last fixture of the group to ensure a third place and direct qualification into the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers.

The tie on Tuesday will be exciting due to the high stakes and past record between the two teams. Overall, the Indian football team have won six out of the nine outings against their neighbours. Afghanistan won once and the remaining two games were draws. In the last five meetings between the both teams, the Blue Tigers won twice, the Afghans won once and the other two matches were draws.

Here is a detailed look into the last five meetings between both sides:

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India 1-1 Afghanistan (December 3, 2011)

https://youtu.be/PVZtvpWrOH0

India and Afghanistan met twice during the 2011 SAFF Championships held in New Delhi, India. The first meeting was during the group stage, as both outfits found themselves in Group A along with teams like Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The 1-1 draw saw Balal Arezou score first for the Afghans and Sunil Chhetri level the scores for the Blue Tigers.

India 4-0 Afghanistan (December 11, 2011)

https://youtu.be/qsktabJdq1E

The second meeting during the 2011 SAFF Championship came in the final. Both teams clashed in the final of the tournament, after making their way out of the group stage and navigating through the semi-finals. However, India were too hot to handle this time around, as they ran away with the title thanks to a 4-0 victory. Sunil Chhetri, Clifford Miranda, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sushil Kumar were the scorers on the night.

Afghanistan 2-0 India (September 11, 2013)

https://youtu.be/OD-D34dIS8o

The next meeting between the sides came in the next edition of the SAFF Championships in 2013. The tournament was hosted by Nepal this time around. India and Afghanistan met again in the final after qualifying from their respective groups and defeating their opponents in the semis. Afghanistan got the upper hand on this occasion, as they won the title with a 2-0 victory over India. Mustafa Azadzoy and Sanjar Ahmad scored for the winners.

India 2-1 Afghanistan (January 3, 2016)

https://youtu.be/FSF5icTxlIc

Both teams clashed in the final of a SAFF Championship yet again in the 2015 edition. However, this time the Blue Tigers avenged their defeat in the final of the 2013 edition. The highly competitive tie was settled in extra-time, after Zubayr Amiri and Jeje Lalpekhlua’s goals took the game beyond the 90-minute mark. The winner was scored by Sunil Chhetri in the 101’ minute of the game.

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Afghanistan 1-1 India (November 14, 2019)

https://youtu.be/GD3TTqiMT3M

The most recent meeting was the reverse fixture in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 joint preliminary qualifiers. The Group E fixture saw Afghanistan and India play out a 1-1 draw. The disappointing result could have been even more embarrassing for Igor Stimac’s men if not for Seiminlen Doungel. The attacker scored an injury-time leveller to cancel out the strike from Zelfy Nazary in the first half. 

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