How Qatar 'robbed' India of the chance to make history in FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The contentious decision flipped the game on its head, with Qatar scoring their second goal in the 85th minute through Ahmed Al-Rawi.

Poor refereeing cost India a historic admission into the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, as Asian champions Qatar won 2-1 on Tuesday thanks to a disputed goal. India took the lead thanks to Lallianzuala Chhangte's 37th-minute goal, but disaster struck when the referee ruled Yousef Aymen's 73rd-minute equalizer fair after the ball appeared to have gone out of play. The contentious decision flipped the game on its head, with Qatar scoring their second goal in the 85th minute through Ahmed Al-Rawi.

This came after the Indians were within touching distance of making history after leading 1-0 at halftime, while Kuwait and Afghanistan went goalless in the day's second match.

But the Indian dream was crushed in a matter of minutes in the second half, thanks to Aymen's disputed goal and Al-Rawi's follow-up.

 
Meanwhile, Kuwait's Eid Al-Rashidi scored the game-winning goal in the 81st minute. Qatar and Kuwait thus advanced to the second round.

Previously, playing only five days after the international retirement of perhaps the country's finest footballer, Sunil Chhetri, few gave the distressed 121-ranked Indian team a chance.

However, Igor Stimac's team turned the tables and appeared to be on track following Chhangte's strike.

Chhangte, a 27-year-old winger from Mizoram's Lunglei, scored precisely into the bottom corner following a diagonal feed from Brandon Fernandes.

After receiving the ball, he made no mistake in outwitting his man and breaking the tie, quieting the fans of the favored hosts at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

Chhangte earned redemption as he scored after missing two chances created by Brandon.

 

Chhangte became India's highest-scoring active player with eight goals following the strike.

A large number of Indian fans also entered the stadium, and they occasionally outperformed the home audience in terms of cheering after Chhangte's goal.

After weathering an initial wave of raids from Qatar, where the day's skipper and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a number of key saves, India, missing Chhetri after many years, began to apply pressure on their hosts.

Mehtab Singh also contributed, making a goal-line save on Ahmed Alrawi's shot to put India in contention early on.

As the first half progressed, India's three attackers, Rahim Ali, Chhangte, and Manvir Singh, along with midfielders Fernandes, Jeakson Singh, and Suresh Wangjam, established a six-man push that launched attacks in waves and prevented Qatar's defenders from settling on the ball in their own half.

In the 25th minute, Jeakson released Rahim through behind Qatar's defence, and the latter ran into the box, driving it hard and low across the goal, but the cross avoided the onrushing Chhangte and Manvir.

Manvir was passed through in the 31st minute with only the goalie to beat, but his shot was saved.

Chhangte intercepted a pass in the Qatar third, played a one-two with Brandon, and squared it to Rahim, who was just a yard away from the ball.

The Qatar defence appeared rocked, and the Indians were ready to take advantage. Chhangte started the scoring.

Jay Gupta, following a one-two with Jeakson on the left flank, passed it back to Brandon, who found the ideal weight on his through pass to Chhangte. The nifty winger coolly finished at the near post.

The momentum drastically shifted in the second half. India no longer used a six-man press, preferring a mid-block arrangement.

Qatar were attempting to exploit the half-space channels, and Alrawi, the receiver of a second cut-back, had his shot blocked once more by Mehtab.

Sahal Abdul Samad and Liston Colaco, who had taken over for Fernandes and Rahim, came close to creating the opportunity. On the counter, Sahal jinked past his man and set Liston through, but the latter was just inches offside.

With little over 15 minutes remaining in regulation, Qatar responded with a cut-back from point-blank range by Ayman. The Indian players furiously challenged the judgment, arguing that the ball had already been out of play before the goal was scored, but the referee refused to budge.

Jay caused a stir down the left in the 82nd minute, but a poor touch forced the Qatar goalkeeper to step out and parry it off his foot. Liston had an opportunity to score off the rebound, but his shot was deflected before being gathered.

Alrawi broke Indian hearts again as he curled it from outside the box into the bottom corner, past a sprawling Gurpreet.