Doha: Qatar came from behind to beat India 2-1 in their Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 Group A match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ Group A tie on Tuesday. The defeat ended India’s hopes of advancing to the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, with the loss coming after Lallianzuala Chhangte had given them the lead in the 37th minute. A makeshift Qatar, however, struck back through Youssef Ayman and Ahmed Al Rawi in the 73rd and the 85th minutes as India finished third behind Kuwait, who edged Afghanistan 1-0. Qatar tried to seize the momentum early and were denied a dream start by Indian captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who fisted over a blinder to keep out Alhasmi Mohialdin’s tap off a Hazem Shehata corner in the second minute. India survived another scare in the 11th minute - Qatar failing to capitalise on a good build-up down the right. Mohamed Khaled Gouda feinted past Indian defender Jay Gupta, entered the 18-yard box to lay it for Ahmed Alwari who was eventually denied as Mehtab Singh came in from nowhere to put his body in between to defy Alrawi’s push. Alrawi was again in the thick of the action in the 17th minute but he failed to make the most of it – his diagonal shot missing the target after Ahmed Alhanehi had snatched it from Jeakson Singh in the midfield. Having survived the initial onslaught, India regrouped and for the next 10 minutes, they pushed Qatar on the backfoot by pressing high, and hard. The first attempt to make an impact came in the 20th minute but Qatar goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy was fast to react, clearing the danger even after Jay Gupta had outrun his marker in a desperate attempt to reach the ball. India’s best chance fell in the 30th minute but Manvir Singh - despite having reacted faster to get past Hazem Shehata - couldn’t place it past goalkeeper Ellethy. Off the rebound, the Qatar defence recovered to deny Chhangte from burying it into the net However, the momentum drew dividends for India – the Blue Tigers drawing first blood in the 37th minute. Chhangte sneaked in between the goalkeeper and the defence line to tap in Brandon’s grounder. Qatar tried to make amends the very next minute but Gurpreet dived full length to palm Anrawi’s grounder. Qatar made three changes at the start of the second half - goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy being replaced by Ali Nader, Homam Ahmed coming on for Hazem Shehata and Khaled Ali brought in for Ahmed Al Ganehi. Seeking the equaliser, Qatar launched a barrage of attacks but had to wait till the 73rd minute to draw level, Ayman pushing the ball home from close following Hashmi Al Hussain’s free-kick. A lapse in concentration cost India the match in the 85th minute, Al Rawi burying his right footer past Gurpreet to snatch the win for Qatar.