India moved to second place in Group A of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with four points from three matches, followed by Kuwait, who have three points.
India and Afghanistan settled for a 0-0 draw after failing to convert opportunities into goals in a Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Abha, England. Saudi Arabia, Thursday.
Manvir Singh came very close to scoring twice in the first half, with the first 45 minutes producing things from start to finish. Host nation Afghanistan also had its share of chances. However, most of them were half-chances and both teams’ goalkeepers were not tested enough.
Indian and Afghan managers Igor Stimac and Ashley Westwood saw the players miss their chances despite playing open football in the first half. Chance after chance would come to nothing in the final third.
India caused moments of anxiety in the Afghan defense early on and had Manvir not missed a big chance in the 17th minute, the visitors would have taken an early lead.
Then Afghanistan had the chance to go forward, but Mosawer Ahadi, finding space on the right side of the box, couldn’t get enough power into his left-footed shot so that Sandhu took care of it without much problem.
India had a chance in the 58th minute after Akash Mishra collected the ball on the left wing and passed it to Vikram Pratap Singh whose finishing left much to be desired.
Moments later, it was Afghanistan’s turn to miss a golden opportunity when Rahul Bheke foiled Rahmat Akbari and Omid Popalzay’s plan with a timely interception.
One of the best chances of the match came from India, but Subhasish Bose’s free header from a corner missed the target.
