India hit the rock bottom of Igor Stimac's tenure as Afghanistan humbles the Blue Tigers

Despite taking a lead through a first-half strike from skipper Sunil Chhetri, the Indian men's senior team's lack of intensity and character allowed Afghanistan to crawl back into the tie and walk away with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday. Goals from Rahmat Akbari and Sharif Mukhammad secured three points for the visiting outfit in the second-round clash of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.

After the disappointments in Abha, Saudi Arabia, the Blue Tigers needed a response and Igor Stimac made some expected alterations to the starting lineup. Subhasish Bose was brought into the left-back position in place of Akash Mishra. The attacking line was heavily changed with the likes of Vikram Pratap Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte facing the axe after an underwhelming performance in the previous outing.

Brandon Fernandes was brought in to add a bit of creativity and flair to the Indian attacking line and his presence immediately elevated the performance of the Stimac-coached outfit. In the third minute, the FC Goa creative midfielder found Chhetri inside the opposition box with an inch-perfect cross.

The veteran striker, who was making his 150th appearance for the Blue Tigers, tried to stab the ball into the bottom corner on the turn. His effort, however, struck the post and the rebound fell for Manvir Singh with an unguarded goal ahead of him. But the Mohun Bagan SG forward miscued his effort and squandered a gilt-edge opportunity.

With all the prerogatives on their end to push forward, the hosts were on the hunt for the opening goal. But the Afghans had a few tricks of their own. Haroon Fakhruddin's headed effort from a corner tested Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to the limit, but the Indian numero uno produced the goods to keep the cleansheet intact. For the Lions of Khorasan, the approach was to rely on counter-attacks but soon were left overwhelmed by the incessant attacks from India. Haroon Amiri left his side down when he handled the ball inside the box and conceded a penalty in the 36th minute.

Once the referee pointed to the spot, the Guwahati crowd immediately realized they were on course to witness destiny. Sunil Chhetri, after scoring in his 1st, 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, and 125th appearances for the national team, had an opportunity to find the back of the net in his historic 150th. The 39-year-old hammered the spot-kick into the bottom left corner and beefed up his international goal tally to 94.

With the scoreline at 1-0, the Blue Tigers found it comfortable going into the break, but their intent, however, simmered down after pulling ahead.

Revitalized Afghanistan blow away pale India in the second half

The start of the second half witnessed Manvir Singh arriving a little late for another early opportunity and a chance to double their lead being squandered. There were warning signals for India, as Afghanistan grew more comfortable in the opposition half. There was visible irritation from Chhetri after the lack of intensity from his teammates.

Stimac brought on a few substitutes to alter the momentum, however, with a strike of luck and some showing of pure heart, Afghanistan leveled the proceedings when a strike from Rahmat Akbari's effort deflected off Rahul Bheke into the back of the net in the 70th minute. With the lack of control in the middle of the park from the Blue Tigers, the visitors dominated the final third of play.

But a major blow awaited the hosts when Gurpreet Singh Sandhu brought down an opposition attacker inside the box. Sharif Mukhammad, in the 88th minute, was presented with an incredible opportunity to pull his nation ahead in the death. Silencing the Indira Gandhi Atheltic Stadium and complicating India's third-round aspirations, the former Gokulam Kerala midfielder stabbed the penalty home.

As the final whistle blew, Chhetri's face was buried in his palms as India suffered arguably their worst defeat in the Igor Stimac tenure.