Top five football matches between India and Qatar

India will be facing a strong Qatar side without retired talisman Sunil Chhetri.

India are going to face Asian champions Qatar once again in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Doha. This match will be crucial for the Blue Tigers, as they will have to get the win to secure their place in round three.

The Maroons are currently ranked 34th in the FIFA rankings and it will be a daunting task for the visitors to face them in their den.

The Blue Tigers have had some memorable encounters against Qatar, but others have also led to disappointment. Overall, Qatar have a much better head-to-head record against them.

Even though Qatar have rested their main players for the upcoming match, it will be a daunting task for the Blue Tigers to get something positive from the match. Here we take a look at the top five best football matches between India and Qatar:

5. India 0-3 Qatar – 2023

The Blue Tigers displayed resilience but faced a 0-3 defeat against the formidable Asian champions Qatar in their second match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar.

Qatar were the dominant side and could have scored more goals, but they missed their opportunities. On the other hand, the home team also had some really good chances, but could not capitalize on them. For the Maroons, Tarek Mashal, Almoez Ali and Yusuf Abdurisag scored goals.

4. India 0-1 Qatar – 2021

A 10-man India defended well but suffered a 0-1 defeat to Asian champion Qatar in their World Cup qualifying second round match. Abdel Aziz scored in the 33rd minute in a match completely dominated by the Qataris. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had to pull off a series of saves to keep the margin of loss small.

The Blue Tigers, however, played with 10 men from the 17th minute onwards after defender Rahul Bheke was red-carded for a second booking. He had earlier received a yellow card in the ninth minute.

3. India 0-6 Qatar – 1996

The Indian team have suffered some heavy losses over the years and against Qatar as well they lost by six goals.

Qatar were a much better team and punished the Indian team for their poor performance. None of the Indian players performed as per expectations and suffered with a heavy defeat.

2. India 0-0 Qatar – 2021

One of the best Indian football team matches in recent times came when they held 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar to a 0-0 draw in their backyard.

Up against the reigning Asian football champions in their joint 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign, Igor Stimac’s Blue Tigers put on a near-flawless display to eke out a historic result.

Missing striker Sunil Chhetri due to illness, India were banking heavily on their defence to deliver on the night and it didn’t disappoint. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was the star of the show, making a total of 11 saves throughout the match. Even the Qatar head coach praised the Indian team for their defensive performance.

1. India 2-1 Qatar – 2011

India stunned Qatar 2-1 in an international friendly in one of the most memorable victories by the country over a top Asian side. Sunil Chhetri and Sushil Kumar Singh scored for the Indian team and Qatar’s Ibrahim Khalfan scored a goal.

The Indian team did not allow any time and space for opposition players to play their way and the Blue Tigers were brilliant on the counter-attack. At that time, the Indian team were ranked 147th and Qatar were 94th in the FIFA rankings.

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