While India managed to hold off Afghanistan to a draw in their previous Group A encounter last week for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, fans of the Indian team were hopeful that the Men in Blue would pull off a win in their second encounter against Afghanistan at Gwalior.
However, on Tuesday, the fans in attendance and at home were left in complete disarray as the home side was defeated 2-1 by the Afghans, thus crushing their dreams of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Lower-ranked Afghanistan shocked India 2-1, causing the host team to suffer one of its most humiliating losses in recent times despite skipper Sunil Chhetri scoring his 94th goal for his country in his 150th game. In the 37th minute of his historic match, Chhetri gave India the lead with a penalty after Haroon Amiri handled the ball inside the box. But Rahmat Akbari’s goal in the 71st minute, which coincided with Sunil Chhetri’s substitution by head coach Igor Stimac, equalized after a major defensive blunder by India.
While the scoreboard was even, it was a tragic mistake from the Indian side that gave Afghanistan a golden opportunity to take the lead. A moment of madness from Gurpreet as he crashed into the Afghanistan striker, resulting in a penalty for Afghanistan in the 88th minute. With just 2 minutes of playtime left, Sharif Mukhammad made no mistake and netted the ball past the goalkeeper, giving his team the lead that eventually turned into a fighting win for the Afghans.
The skipper couldn’t have put in any more effort, yet in his absence, the team ended up conceding twice. Sunil Chhetri couldn’t hold back as India lost the match despite taking the lead in the first half. The skipper could not have done more and in his absence, the team ended up conceding twice.
Even though star player Sunil Chhetri had a historic night, scoring his 94th goal for his country in his 150th game, India faced an embarrassing defeat at a very important stage, especially when you consider how much lower-rated Afghanistan is. Chhetri did what was expected of him and found the back of the net when his team needed it the most, but it just wasn’t enough on this night.
