The match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium will kick off at 10 pm (IST). The Blue Tigers are currently ranked 103 in the latest FIFA Ranking while the hosts are in 62nd place.
The history book points out that India have never beaten Qatar in an official match. The history book also points out that Qatar are the defending Asian champions, and one among the two Asian teams who have earned an invitation to play the Copa America Brazil 2019.
Nevertheless, a day before India take on Qatar in the Group E match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 joint qualifiers, India's head coach Igor Stimac stressed "anything is possible in football".
Speaking on the eve of the match on Monday, in Doha, Stimac said: "I know the Qatar team pretty well. Their physical strength is great, and their technical capabilities, and movements are fantastic. It's difficult to find any weak point in their squad. But in Football, everything is possible. You never give up."
The match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium will kick off at 10pm (IST). The Blue Tigers are currently ranked 103 in the latest FIFA Ranking while the hosts are in 62nd place.
There are doubts about Indian captain Sunil Chhetri's availability for Tuesday's match due to injury. He did not attend practice sessions in Doha since the team landed in Doha on Saturday.
"We didn't have much time after the Oman game. Even as we know Qatar are a very good team, we are trying to give everything on the pitch. So we have been working on the players, and talking to the players on how to prepare."
Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, mentioned that it is a "good opportunity to play Qatar". "Not getting a result against Oman was disappointing for us. But as a player you have to take it in your stride, and move on to the next challenge. We think it's a good opportunity to play against Qatar. We will try our best, and try to get a result from the game," he said.
Referring back to India's 1-2 loss against Oman in their opening Group E fixture where India conceded two goals in the last 8 minutes, Stimac dismissed talks of fitness worries playing spoilsport.
"Fitness is not a concern. Effectiveness of running is important. A more experienced team would have known when and how to run. We were wasting too much of our energy."
The two teams have just met once at the senior level, way back in 1996, Qatar had pumped in half a dozen, winning 6-0 in the World Cup Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup France 1998. Apart from that, the two countries have met four times in U-23 competitions with Qatar having won thrice, while the other ended in a draw.
The Croatian coach who guided Croatia to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 also explained that he is "working on developing more young players."
"It's still early days for me. We haven't got enough match time. We played well against Oman, we had better possession, more chances, especially in the first half. We are a young team, learning and growing with every step," he said.
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