India vs Afghanistan Preview
The sports fans of India are always eager to see their country achieve every possible honor in the world. Except for cricket, other sports have given Indian fans mixed results throughout the years, with Indian football being one of those sports that has witnessed both dark and positive phases in recent years. Following a forgetful campaign in the AFC Asian Cup, the Indian national football team are now in contention to seal a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup from the Asian zone.
The Blue Tigers will now take on their long-standing footballing rivals Afghanistan in the 1st leg of the second round of the qualifiers and the preliminary joint Qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup 2027. The India vs Afghanistan match will take place on 22nd March at Damac Stadium in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The visitors will look to bring their performance back on track after their humiliation in the recently concluded continental Cup. The Blue Tigers, under their head coach Igor Stimac, crashed out of the Asian Cup in January after losing three consecutive games against Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and Syria (0-1).
On the flip side, Afghanistan will try to bounce back from two heavy defeats in the ongoing second round of the World Cup qualifiers, inflicted by Qatar and Kuwait respectively. In these two games, the Afghans conceded 12 goals, scoring only once. They currently sit bottom of the table in Group A without any points to their name, while their old foes India are currently tied on three points along with Kuwait, with the latter ahead on goal difference.
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After this game in Abha, the two teams will again lock horns in the return leg of the second round on 26th March. The Blue Tigers will host the Lions of Khorasan at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Delhi.
India vs Afghanistan Team News
Igor Stimac has left the fans and football pundits thinking, after the announcement of the Indian squad for the World Cup qualifier against Afghanistan. With a mixture of veterans and promising young stars, the Blue Tigers are poised to show their brilliance on the global stage. The most challenging part for the visitors awaits in Abha as the unfamiliar climatic conditions and terrain might affect their performance and endurance in the game.
With Sunil Chhetri and Manvir Singh fit and in form, Stimac should not have many worries up front. The most difficult part for him is to pick the formidable defensive line in the absence of their irreplaceable star center-back Sandesh Jhingan. All eyes will now be on Mohun Bagan’s Anwar Ali as the long-time absentee has returned to the Indian side after last year. He is likely to pair up with another promising defender, Rahul Bheke. With Nikhil Poojary as the right back, Subhasish Bose would be the frontrunner to fill the left-back position.
As for Afghanistan, they are likely to go with their traditional 4-4-2 dynamic shape against an underperforming yet fired-up Indian side. Anoush Dastgir will once again count on his star attacker Amiruddin Anwar Sharifi to cut through a newly looked Indian defensive line.
India vs Afghanistan Predicted Lineups
India: Gurpreet Singh; Anwar Ali, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Nikhil Poojary, Lalengmawia Ralte, Deepak Tangri, Mahesh Naorem, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri
Afghanistan: Ovays Azizi; Haroon Amiri, Mahboob Hanifi, Habibulla Aksar, Maruf Mohammadi, Jamshed Asekzai, Mustafa Azadzoy, Samir Samandari, Yar Zakarkhel, Amiruddin Sharifi, Balal Arazou
India vs Afghanistan Head-to-head Stats
These two neighboring nations are part of one of the long-standing soccer rivalries. After Nepal, India have faced Afghanistan the most number of times in the last 15 years. The history of this footballing rivalry goes back to 1949 when the two Asian teams played in several friendly games before meeting in the first competitive fixture in the 1951 Asian Games in Delhi.
Both the teams have produced some nail-biting contests whenever they met on the field. Between 2011 and 2016, the Blue Tigers and the Lions of Khorasan contested in three straight final games in the SAFF Championship. The Afghans won their first-ever silverware in football by defeating India 2-0 in SAFF final in 2013 in Kathmandu. There have been 20 face-offs between these two sides, with India winning 5 games and Afghanistan clinching one. In their last encounter, Igor Stimac’s side won 2-1.
Last 5 H2H Results:
India 2-1 Afghanistan (Asian Cup, 2022)
India 1-1 Afghanistan (World Cup qualifier, 2021)
Afghanistan 1-1 India (World Cup qualifier, 2019)
India 2-1 Afghanistan (SAFF Championship, 2016)
Afghanistan 2-0 India (SAFF Championship, 2013)
India vs Afghanistan Prediction
Most football pundits predict that an India vs Afghanistan football match will end as a draw. As both teams will find it difficult to cope with the humid weather of Saudi Arabia, the prediction of a 1-1 draw is likely to be the final result of the match unless either team tries to give a shot in the arm in a bid to climb the points table.
Predicted Score: India 1-1 Afghanistan
India vs Afghanistan Odds & Betting Tips (Subject to change)
Betting Tips:
- The match will be drawn
- Both teams to score – yes
- Goals under 2.5 – yes
Odds:
- Afghanistan: 1.18
- Draw: 2.68
- India: 1.17
India vs Afghanistan Telecast Details
- Venue: Damac Stadium, Abha, Saudi Arabia
- Schedule: Friday, 22nd March at 12:30 am (IST)
- India: FanCode
- Afghanistan: FanCode (selective match)
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