Carlos Queiroz
Bhubaneswar: Qatar’s focus was the key to their 3-0 win over India in Group A of the Preliminary Joint Qualification - Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 on Tuesday.
Head coach Carlos Queiroz said his side maintained their concentration for the entire match as Qatar made it two wins out of two to open a three-point gap at the top of the standings.
“We achieved our goal for the match, which was to win, and to be at the top of the group. I am proud of what we presented and getting six points, and we will strive to continue the journey successfully,” said Quieroz.
“The result confirms the hard work we have done and this is not easy. Focusing for 90 minutes is positive. The players fought throughout the match and this is always our desire.”
Mostafa Meshaal opened the scoring in the fourth minute, with Almoez Ali netting in the 47th - his fifth goal in two games - while Yusuf Abdurisag sealed the victory four minutes from time.
The defeat meant India could not build on their 1-0 win over Kuwait on Matchday One, with head coach Igor Stimac saying the early Qatar goal threw their plans into disarray.
“The match was very difficult, especially since our start was not successful, and we conceded an early goal, so we failed to match them,” said Stimac.
“We tried to come back in the second half, but we did not find the opportunity, and Qatar were able to score at the start of the half which mostly decided the match.”
Stimac, however, believes India still have a good chance of advancing to the next stage.
“I still believe in our chances of qualifying, but we must fight to achieve that goal. We must learn from such matches, look at the positives, and benefit from that in the future.”
Next up, India will take on Afghanistan away from home in March, while Qatar host Kuwait.
