India’s remaining 2022 WC qualifiers to be played in Qatar

"...FIFA World Cup 2022 host Qatar, will welcome Group E opponents Oman, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh," said the AFC in its statement.

New Delhi: India’s remaining 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches will be played in Qatar, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Friday. The AFC announced centralised venues for the remaining Asian qualifiers, which also double up as qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup, which is now scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 15.

“…FIFA World Cup 2022 host Qatar, will welcome Group E opponents Oman, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh,” said the AFC in its statement.

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As per the current schedule, India are set to face Qatar on June 3, Bangladesh on June 7 and Afghanistan on June 15. India were originally scheduled to host Qatar and Afghanistan and play away from home against Bangladesh. The World Cup qualifiers have not been held since November 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

India are placed fourth in the group that also consists of Oman, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar. With three points in five games, India are out of contention to progress further in World Cup qualifiers but still stand a chance to make it to the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers. They are currently scheduled to face Oman and the United Arab Emirates in friendly matches on March 25 and 29 respectively.