The Indian men’s football team will participate in the joint FIFA 2022 World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and will be part of Group E alongside teams like hosts Qatar and Oman. The draw for the same happened in Kaula Lumpur on Wednesday.
Along with these two countries, Group E comprises of neighbours Bangladesh and Afghanistan. India will begin their campaign against Oman at home on 5 September.
This will be followed by an away match against Qatar on 10 September.
Full Schedule of India’s matches
5 September- India vs Oman
10 September- Qatar vs India
15 October- India vs Bangladesh
14 November- Afghanistan vs India
19 November- Oman vs India
26 March- India vs Qatar
4 June- Bangladesh vs India
9 June- India vs Afghanistan
Notably, 40 teams have been divided into eight groups of five teams each. However, only 12 of these teams will make it to the FIFA World Cup.
Which team is placed in which group?
Group A: China, Syria, Philippines, Maldives, Guam
Group B: Australia, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait, Nepal
Group C: Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Cambodia
Group D: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen, Singapore
Group E: Bangladesh, Oman, India, Afghanistan, Qatar
Group F: Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Mongolia
Group G: UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
Group H: South Korea, Lebanon, DPR Korea, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka
Four teams belonging to the ASEAN- Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia were part of the same group (G) which has excited the fans of southeast football.