Table of Contents
India Drawn in Group A of 2026 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2
The Blue Tigers will compete in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2. On Thursday, July 27, 2023, the draw was placed at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Qatar, Kuwait, and the winner of the Round 1 match between Afghanistan and Mongolia make up Group A.
In a double round-robin format, India will face Qatar (59th), Kuwait (137th), and the winner of the match between Afghanistan (157th) and Mongolia (183rd). They will play the games on a home-and-away basis.
The top two teams in each qualification group will proceed to Round 3 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers and will automatically qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
Stimac Confident of India’s Chances Despite Tough Group
After the draw, Blue Tigers head coach Igor Stimac stated, “It was a very busy and exciting day of football for us in India. Now that we know all the opponents, we can clearly say that we were successful against all these teams in the recent past.
“I felt we were not lucky there and all these teams (in Group A), we’ve faced in recent times. We faced Qatar a long time ago, and have shown that even then we were successful against them,” he said. “I beg everyone in India, all the stakeholders, let’s start our meetings and planning, let’s do everything to make sure that the Indian Football Team get enough time to prepare so we can match these teams, outplay them on the pitch, and go through as the winners in the group.”
India Wins SAFF Championship 2023 on Penalties
India has been in excellent form in 2023, winning 11 straight games in the SAFF Championship, Intercontinental Cup, and Tri-Nation Cup. In their two matches against each other at the SAFF Championship, India and Kuwait drew 1-1 in both the group stage and the championship game.
However, the Blue Tigers could claim their seventh sub-continental championship by winning the SAFF Final in Bengaluru earlier this month thanks to a victorious penalty shootout.
India’s Group for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
The previous round of World Cup qualifiers included Qatar in the group that included Igor Stimac’s side. They put up a few moving displays in Doha against the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions. Before their 1-0 defeat, they achieved a 0-0 draw.
The Round 1 Qualifiers matchup between Afghanistan and Mongolia will take place. A recent matchup between them and India. In the previous year’s AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, the game took place in Kolkata. The final score was 2-1 in favor of India.
In the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar earlier this year, India faced up against Mongolia. The score was 2-0 in favor of the Blue Tigers. India, Kuwait, Qatar, and WP1 (Afghanistan/Mongolia) make up Group A.
My name is Krishanu Das the founder of the Sports Dribble.
I am Accountant by profession but a Sports Blogger by passion.
I am passionate about sharing my all knowledge and experiences of sports, with my readers and every sports enthusiast.
Discover more from SPORTS DRIBBLE
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
