Doha: India's first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was on Sunday appointed captain of the side looking to win their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar here on Sunday.
India will play hosts Qatar at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday.
India's senior men's team landed in Doha on Saturday night for the match, a win in which could pave the way for a maiden entry into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
Head coach Igor Stimac had announced a 23-member team for this match.
Apart from Sunil Chhetri, who retired after playing his last game for the country against Kuwait on Thursday, defenders Amey Ranawade, Lalchungnunga and Subhashish Bose did not travel to Qatar.Bose was released on his own request due to personal reasons.
Regarding Ranawade and Lalchungnunga, Stimac said, "I am happy to have both of them with me. We worked on different aspects of their games for the future. We had a good chat before releasing them and they know that they are What part of the game are you in?" Need to grow for the upcoming season."I hope they both use the time ahead to improve and come back stronger."
As far as the captain's armband is concerned, Stimac mentioned that handing it over to Gurpreet was no easy task.
With 71 caps, the 32-year-old is the most experienced and longest-serving player in the national team after Chhetri's retirement.
"Gurpreet was one of our captains for the last five years along with Sunil and Sandesh (Jhingan), so naturally he is the guy to take the responsibility this time," Stimac said.
India's next opponents Qatar, who have already qualified for the third round as group-toppers, have selected a largely young squad, with 21 of their 29 players below the age of 24.Sandhu has occasionally led the team in the past, especially when Chhetri was absent due to injury or personal reasons.
Two-time Asian champions Qatar were held goalless by Afghanistan in Hofuf, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, dominating the match but failing to break down the resolute Afghan defence.
"We have watched the Afghanistan vs Qatar game and will work on attacking changes over the next two days, with the hope that we will start scoring goals from the chances we create," Stimac said.
India are having their first practice in Doha on Sunday evening ahead of the official training session at the match venue on Monday.
A win is important for the Blue Tigers.If they lose to Qatar they will be out of the qualifiers.
They will then compete in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers for a place in the 2027 tournament in Saudi Arabia.
But if India beats Qatar, they will be on top spot to qualify for the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and get a direct spot in the Asian Cup due to their superior goal difference over Afghanistan.
If India draws against Qatar, they will qualify for the third round only if the match between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which will start in Kuwait City two hours after the India match, also ends in a draw.
In that scenario, India would finish second in the group with six points, the same as Afghanistan, but with a better goal difference.
India will play hosts Qatar at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday.
India's senior men's team landed in Doha on Saturday night for the match, a win in which could pave the way for a maiden entry into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
Head coach Igor Stimac had announced a 23-member team for this match.
Apart from Sunil Chhetri, who retired after playing his last game for the country against Kuwait on Thursday, defenders Amey Ranawade, Lalchungnunga and Subhashish Bose did not travel to Qatar.Bose was released on his own request due to personal reasons.
Regarding Ranawade and Lalchungnunga, Stimac said, "I am happy to have both of them with me. We worked on different aspects of their games for the future. We had a good chat before releasing them and they know that they are What part of the game are you in?" Need to grow for the upcoming season."I hope they both use the time ahead to improve and come back stronger."
As far as the captain's armband is concerned, Stimac mentioned that handing it over to Gurpreet was no easy task.
With 71 caps, the 32-year-old is the most experienced and longest-serving player in the national team after Chhetri's retirement.
"Gurpreet was one of our captains for the last five years along with Sunil and Sandesh (Jhingan), so naturally he is the guy to take the responsibility this time," Stimac said.
India's next opponents Qatar, who have already qualified for the third round as group-toppers, have selected a largely young squad, with 21 of their 29 players below the age of 24.Sandhu has occasionally led the team in the past, especially when Chhetri was absent due to injury or personal reasons.
Two-time Asian champions Qatar were held goalless by Afghanistan in Hofuf, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, dominating the match but failing to break down the resolute Afghan defence.
"We have watched the Afghanistan vs Qatar game and will work on attacking changes over the next two days, with the hope that we will start scoring goals from the chances we create," Stimac said.
India are having their first practice in Doha on Sunday evening ahead of the official training session at the match venue on Monday.
A win is important for the Blue Tigers.If they lose to Qatar they will be out of the qualifiers.
They will then compete in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers for a place in the 2027 tournament in Saudi Arabia.
But if India beats Qatar, they will be on top spot to qualify for the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and get a direct spot in the Asian Cup due to their superior goal difference over Afghanistan.
If India draws against Qatar, they will qualify for the third round only if the match between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which will start in Kuwait City two hours after the India match, also ends in a draw.
In that scenario, India would finish second in the group with six points, the same as Afghanistan, but with a better goal difference.
