India faced a 1-0 defeat at the hands of hosts Oman in a World Cup qualifying Group E clash in Muscat on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers were compounded by first-half injuries to midfielder Pronay Halder and centre back Adil Khan.
After missing an early penalty, Oman forward Muhsen Al-Ghassani scored in the 33rd minute giving his side the win. The scoreline flattered the Indian team, which failed to create a single scoring opportunity.
The loss effectively ends India’s hopes of progressing to the World Cup qualifying round as second-placed Oman are already nine points ahead of India.
India's next aim will be to finish third in the group stage to ensure direct progression to the next qualification round for the 2023 Asian Cup.
The Igor Stimac-coached side are currently fourth in the group. In the qualifying standings, India are a point behind third-placed Afghanistan and two ahead of Bangladesh.
The Blue Tigers will next face Qatar at home in March. They will end their campaign in this round-robin with back-to-back games in June against Bangladesh (away) and Afghanistan (home).
India will be playing in the continental competition even if they finish bottom of the group. As for the Asian Cup, they will have to play a play-off round, as they did in the previous qualifiers for the 2019 tournament.
The Indian team marked their ninth loss in 10 games under Stimac’s short tenure. India’s only victory came in the King’s Cup tournament in Thailand earlier this year, where they defeated the hosts 1-0.
Apart from that solitary win, India have four draws and five losses under Stimac.
