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The Indian football team and Afghanistan will lock horns in a bid to book a direct place in Round 3 of the Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday.
While the Indian football team are currently placed third in Group E of the FIFA World Cup 2022/AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers with six points from seven games, Afghanistan find themselves in fourth place with five points. The Blue Tigers only need a draw to book their place in Round 3 of the Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers. Meanwhile, anything less than a win would force Afghanistan to play in the playoffs in order to secure a berth in the next round.
Indian Football team vs Afghanistan - Recent results
The Indian football team ended their 11-match winless run under Igor Stimac with a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh in their last World Cup qualifier outing. Prior to that, the Blue Tigers played out a 1-1 draw with Oman in a friendly before losing 0-6 and 0-1 to the UAE and Qatar respectively.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, raced to a 3-2 win over Indonesia and drew 1-1 with Singapore in friendlies. They then played out a 1-1 draw with Bangladesh before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Oman in World Cup qualifiers.
Indian football team form guide: D-L-D-L-W (Latest on the right)
Afghanistan form guide: L-W-D-D-L (Latest on the right)
Indian football team vs Afghanistan - Head-to-head record
The Indian football team have played six games against Afghanistan so far, drawing thrice, winning twice and losing once. The last time the two teams faced each other was in the reverse Group E fixture, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Indian football team vs Afghanistna: Team news
Indian football team
Rowlin Borges has been ruled out of the game against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury. Anirudh Thapa, meanwhile, has started training with the team and could get a few minutes on Tuesday. While Manvir Singh and Sunil Chhetri are expected to play upfront, Glan Martins will be deployed in the holding-midfielder's role.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan will bank on veterans Zohib Islam Amiri and Masih Saighani to keep the Indian attackers at bay, with captain Farshad Noor set to play in a deeper role. While Jabar Sharza and Norlla Amiri will lead the line for Afghanistan, Fardin Hakimi will miss the clash due to an injury.
Indian Football team vs Qatar: Predicted line-ups
Indian Football Team (4-4-2): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, Chinglensana Singh; Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes, Udanta Singh, Suresh Wangjam, Bipin Singh; Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri
Afghanistan (4-5-1): Ovays Azizi; Masih Saighani, Zohib Amiri, Sharif Mukhammed, David Najem; Abdul Najem, Husin Alizada; Zubayr Amiri, Farshad Noor, Faisal Shayesteh; Amiruddin Sharifi
Indian football team vs Afghanistan prediction
The Indian football team and Afghanistan are evenly matched on paper and current form. Expect a well-contested draw on Tuesday.
Prediction: Indian football team 1-1 Afghanistan
