The fourth round of the group stage of the round of 36 in the Asian region of the World Preliminary Championship continued, and in a match in Group A, the Indian team playing at home unexpectedly overturned, and they were reversed 2-1 by the weakest team in the group, Afghanistan, and it was difficult to find a win in two legs, and the situation of qualifying from the group also took a sharp turn!
According to the latest statistics from the United Nations, India's population has surpassed China in 2023 to become the world's most populous country. However, India's demographic dividend has not been shown in the field of sports, and in Asian football, the Indian team has always been in the third or even fourth rate, and it is difficult to pose any threat to the Asian strong teams. However, in the round of 36 group draw, the Indian team was lucky to draw the upper draw, they and Qatar, Kuwait and Afghanistan in the same group, many fans predicted before the game that the Indian team should join hands with the Qatar team to qualify, into the final stage of the Asian region of the World Preliminaries!
However, no one expected that the Indian team would encounter Waterloo against Afghanistan, the weakest team in the group. Ranked only 158th in the latest FIFA rankings, Afghanistan is arguably the belly of Asia, having lost 1-8 and 0-4 to Qatar and Kuwait in the first two rounds of the group stage. Unexpectedly, the Indian team regained its self-confidence.
In the first leg between the two teams, Afghanistan drew 0-0 with India and picked up their first points in the round of 36. In the second leg, the Afghan team performed even more bravely, although in the first half of the game, the Indian team took the lead with the penalty kick of captain Chetri, but the backward Afghan team did not give up. In the 70th minute, the Afghan team played a sharp counterattack, although Ahadi's first shot was blocked, but the follow-up Akbari completed the goal with a supplementary goal, helping the Afghan team to make the score 1-1!
However, the show was not over, in the 88th minute, India's goalkeeper Singh made a big mistake when he brought down the opposing attacking player on the edge of the penalty area, and the referee decisively blew the whistle to award a penalty. Afghanistan's centre-back Muhammad converted a penalty to help Afghanistan complete the comeback! With little time left, India did not score the equaliser and the score was maintained at 2-1. In the end, the Afghan team defeated the Indian team 2-1 in an upset, and regained the hope of qualifying!
After four rounds, the Indian team, with only four points, is still in second place in the standings, but their lead is only goal difference. In the last two rounds of the group stage, if the Indian team continues to win, then the Kuwait team and even the Afghan team have every chance to catch up and get another ticket to the group!