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

Where Afghanistan is likely to benefit is through their English coach, Ashley Westwood, who is well aware of Indian players but the advantage is with India and failing to score a win may well be the end of the road for their campaign.

March 20, 2024 / 18:32 IST
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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.

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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.