Football
World Cup Qualifiers: Indian football team head-to-head records
Indian team is placed in group A of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers second round alongside Qatar, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.
Sunil Chhetri
The Indian football team starting the qualification cycle of FIFA WC 2026 with their match against Kuwait in the second round of the AFC World Cup qualification. Indian team is placed in group A alongside Qatar, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.
India will play two matches this month, firstly against Kuwait at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait on 16th November and then a home match against Qatar on 21st November.
Today, The Bridge will look at India's head-to-head record against the other teams in the group.
India v Kuwait, Head to Head: 1 win, 2 draws, 2 losses
Kuwait is one of the most familiar opponents for the Indian team as they played them twice this year at the SAFF championship 2023 where we made a 1-1 draw in the group stage and a win on penalties in the final.
India had played 5 times against Kuwait in the past where we managed a win once but suffered two huge defeats as well. In the 1978 Asian Games, we played against them for the first time but suffered a massive 1-6 defeat in that match. India got their first win against Kuwait in 2004 in a friendly match where we won 3-2.
India v Qatar, Head to Head: 1 draw, 2 losses
World no.61 Qatar is a very formidable side and the sixth-best team in Asia, India had played three matches against them all of those in FIFA World Cup qualifiers. This is the third time Qatar has become a roadblock for India on the path to FIFA World Cup qualification.
India was in the same group as Qatar in the last World Cup cycle as well, where we managed a historic draw against Qatar in 2019 in an away fixture but suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat at home. India first time played against Qatar in 1996 where we suffered a massive 0-6 defeat.
India v Afghanistan, Head to Head: 7 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss
Afghanistan is a former SAFF member who later shifted to CAFA in 2015, and has a perfect rivalry against the Indian team. India played them 11 times in the past and just lost on one occasion that is in the final 2013 SAFF championship.
Like Qatar, Afghanistan was also in India's group of FIFA qualifiers last time, where they managed to draw both matches. The India-Afghanistan rivalry started way back in 1951 when the two teams met for the first time at the 1951 Asian Games and India registered a 3-0 win at that time. The last time India played Afghanistan in the 2022 Asian Cup qualifiers they took a 2-1 win after a winner from Sahal Abdul Samad in injury time.
