Queiroz says focused Qatar reaped dividends vs India

Qatar’s focus was the key to their 3-0 win over India in Group A of the Preliminary Joint Qualification – Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup 2027 on Tuesday.
Head coach Carlos Queiroz said his side maintained their concentration for the entire match as Qatar made it two wins out of two to open a three-point gap at the top of the standings. “We achieved our goal for the match, which was to win, and to be at the top of the group. I am proud of what we presented and getting six points, and we will strive to continue the journey successfully,” said Quieroz.
“The result confirms the hard work we have done and this is not easy. Focusing for 90 minutes is positive. The players fought throughout the match and this is always our desire.”
Mostafa Meshaal opened the scoring in the fourth minute, with Almoez Ali netting in the 47th – his fifth goal in two games – while Yusuf Abdurisag sealed the victory four minutes from time. Qatar had defeated Afghanistan 8-1 in the opening match but Queiroz felt his team could perform much better. “In our group, we hold the belief that there is always room for improvement, regardless of the outcome,” the veteran Portuguese said.
“Whether we win or not, we strive to constantly progress and be better. This explains why even when we achieve a victory with a score of 8-1, we do not consider it sufficient; we always aim for more. Similarly, even a 3-0 win falls short of our expectations, as we continuously seek to push our limits,” he added.
Queiroz praised the Indian team and lauded their efforts, as he said: “Despite exerting immense pressure since scoring the opening goal, we made every effort to control the game by pressing the opposing players, pressing the ball, and pressing all over the field. However, India displayed unwavering determination and never relented. This compelled our team to exert even more effort, as not a single moment was granted by the Indian team to secure a respite and score the three goals.”
The defeat meant India could not build on their 1-0 win over Kuwait, with head coach Igor Stimac saying the early Qatar goal threw their plans into disarray. “The match was very difficult, especially since our start was not successful, and we conceded an early goal, so we failed to match them,” said Stimac.
“We tried to come back in the second half, but we did not find the opportunity, and Qatar were able to score at the start of the half which mostly decided the match.”
Stimac, however, believes India still have a good chance of advancing to the next stage. “I still believe in our chances of qualifying, but we must fight to achieve that goal. We must learn from such matches, look at the positives, and benefit from that in the future.”
The Indian coach did not shy away from underlining that there was a lot more work needed to strengthen football’s infrastructure in the country. “We still need to work a lot, inside our house, our family, about everything that is connected to football. Qatar spends more on one trip coming here than we (do) all year on all selections, clear as that. Organisation-wise travel, logistics, food, sleep, rest, everything needs to get better to get and it will help us in the future,” he said.
Next up, India will take on Afghanistan away from home in March, while Qatar host Kuwait.