FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Controversial decision shatters India’s World Cup hopes

India’s dream of playing at the FIFA World Cup came crashing down after a 1-2 loss to Qatar in the second round of FIFA World Cup Qualifier match, that was marred by a controversial decision.

The Indian team was done in by some poor refereeing as Qatar caught on to the momentum and emerged the winner at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday night.

Lallianzuala Chhangte scored in the 37th minute to put India, ranked 121 in the world, ahead of Qatar but in the 75th minute, Qatar were back on level terms after what was a controversial call.

Qatar, trailing for the first time in the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, were desperately looking for an opening and a free kick in the 75th minute took centre stage.

The ball looked to have rolled behind for a goal kick, but Mohialdin flicked it back into play for Yousef Aymen to knock the ball into the net. The referee judged Aymen’s goal as fair even though replays suggested otherwise.

There was no VAR to come to India’s rescue.

The Indian team, led by skipper and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh, protested but the linesman and the referee stood their ground.

The controversial decision unsettled India and Qatar, who are the Asian champions, scored the winner when Ahmed Al-Rawi netted the ball past Gurpreet in the 85th minute to seal the deal.

In another second round match, Kuwait beat Afghanistan 1-0. The wins meant Qatar and Kuwait progressed to the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

India were the first to score in the first half when the 27-year-old Chhangte sent the ball into the bottom corner of the goal after he accurately latched on to a diagonal pass from Brandon Fernandes.

It was the third time Chhangte was trying to score and after having fluffed the earlier two chances, the Indian striker from Mizoram, was in no mood to make a mistake.

The goal is Chhangte’s eighth and he is now India’s highest-scoring active player.

India did lead for most part of the match but the controversial decision and Al-Rawi’s winner late in the game meant India’s dream of playing in a football World Cup came crashing down.