FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: India go down 1-0 to Qatar after Abdel Aziz's solitary goal in Doha

Abdel Aziz’s 33rd-minute goal helped table-toppers Qatar beat India 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Thursday.

Qatar's Abdel Aziz scored the solitary goal of the FIFA World Cup qualifier in the 33rd minute as the Asian champions defeated 10-man India 1-0 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Thursday. Aziz fired in a shot with his left foot from close range to beat Gurpreet Singh as Men in blue suffered their third defeat of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers. | Abdulaziz Hatem scores the opening goal for Qatar #AsianQualifiers pic.twitter.com/95zG2dsTSS Gurpreet Singh, however, came with a superlative effort in the goal as the India shot-stopper made 9 crucial saves. Coach Igor Stimac seems to be happy with his boys' performance, given they did not have the ideal buildup to the big Qatar game due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Indian football team was down to 10 men in the 17th minute of the game as Rahul Bheke was sent off after picking two yellow cards. It was always going to be difficult against a team of Qatar's caliber but going down to 10 men made it even more daunting for men in blue in the first half. Offensively, this was a better match for India compared to their previous one against Qatar. Now the team should look to collect six points against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.