India v Afghanistan FIFA World Cup qualifier: Date, Venue and Time

The away leg of the India vs Afghanistan football World Cup Qualifier will be held in Abha, Saudi Arabia, on March 21.

The opposition won’t pose as much of a challenge as the conditions will when India take on Afghanistan during the second round of the FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday. The fixture is set to unfold in Abha in Saudi Arabia, which is perched high up at about 2,270 metres. The altitude, alongside low temperatures due to the late kickoff (10 pm local time), is something that coach Igor Stimac would have taken into account as part of his preparations.

India's away leg against Afghanistan will take place on March 21 (March 22, 12.30 am IST) and India's home leg will be played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on March 26 at 7 pm.

India, ranked 117, are currently third (3 points) in Group A behind Qatar (6 points) and Kuwait (3 points), having recorded a win and a loss so far. Though they trail Kuwait on goal difference, a famous away win against them in November last year was much celebrated. But it was followed up by a rather dismal campaign at the AFC Asian Cup in January, where they registered three losses against higher-ranked opponents, Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria. It wasn’t so much about the results as it was about their performance, returning home without scoring a single goal.

Their opposition, Afghanistan, are ranked 158 in the world and sit at the bottom of the table after losing both their matches, while conceding 12 goals along the way. What has made things far worse for them is the boycott called by key players against the Afghanistan Football Federation, which means that a much weaker team will take the field against India. It’s going to be no different in the reverse fixture on March 26 in Guwahati. This means six crucial points up for grabs for an Indian side that really needs to give their fans something to cheer about after a rather forgettable last few months. With these points in the bag, the stage will be set for a mouthwatering home fixture against Kuwait in June. The top two teams from the group will eventually make the cut for the third qualifying round.

India will be starting without Sandesh Jhingan in the defence — a key figure when it comes to commanding the backline. But Stimac otherwise has a full squad at his disposal which includes the young legs of Anwar Ali and Jaekson Singh, who missed the Asian Cup due to injury, and potential debuts for Jay Gupta, Imran Khan and Amey Ranawade. The midfield is packed with talents such as Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad, who have the ability to pull strings on their day. And as always, India will bank on the guile of skipper Sunil Chhetri up ahead, backed up by the quick feet of Manvir Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte.

Where Afghanistan is likely to benefit is through their English coach, Ashley Westwood, who is well aware of Indian players having been with Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League for three seasons and another with RoundGlass Punjab back when they played the I-League in 2021-22. But the advantage is quite clearly with India and failing to score a win may well be the end of the road for their campaign.