India will play Qatar in a pivotal World Cup qualifying match, without Sunil Chhetri.

With a pivotal FIFA World Cup qualifying match against heavyweights Qatar in Doha on Tuesday, the Indian football team will be going into a trying transition phase, and the loss of the important Sunil Chhetri would be hard to fill. The 39-year-old Chhetri played in last week's match in Kolkata against Kuwait, marking the end of his illustrious international career. The match resulted in a goalless stalemate, and the team failed to give him a worthy send-off. Chhetri captained the nation with style for over ten years, finishing with 94 goals in 151 games.

Following Chhetri's retirement, the 32-year-old Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the team's first-choice goalkeeper, who has played in 72 international matches, will serve as the captain of the Indian side.

India's match against Qatar, the two-time Asian champions, at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium will be a tough one. They know full well that a loss will be the end of their campaign and eliminate any chance of making it to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers.

India remain in the second spot with five points and a goal difference of -3. Afghanistan, who also played out a 0-0 draw with Qatar in their last outing in Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, are in third spot with a goal difference of -10, the stalemate making the job much more difficult for Igor Stimac's wards.

Qatar, who have already qualified for the third round as group-toppers, have named a largely youthful squad, with 21 out of their 29 players below the age of 24.

"We have watched the Afghanistan versus Qatar game and will work on the attacking transition, with a hope to start scoring goals from the chances we create," Stimac stated upon his arrival.

India's formal training session will take place at the match location on Monday, following their first practice on Sunday evening in Doha.

The Blue Tigers have to get a result. They will be eliminated from the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers if they lose to Qatar.

After that, they will compete in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in order to qualify for the Saudi Arabia 2027 event.

On the other hand, because of their far better goal differential than Afghanistan, India, should they defeat Qatar, will be favorites to go to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers and earn a straight ticket to the Asian Cup.

If India draw against Qatar, they would qualify for the third round only if the match between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which will begin off in Kuwait City two hours after India's encounter, also ends in a tie.

In that case, India will have the same six points as Afghanistan to finish second in the group, but a superior goal differential.

With four points, Kuwait is at the bottom of the standings, but all three of the other teams are still in the running for the second and final spot in Group A, with Qatar having advanced to the third round already.

"Who, after Sunil Chhetri?" has been a persistent question in Indian football for more than ten years. To replace him, the squad has not yet discovered a deadly striker.

Rahim Ali was not a very good finisher and had trouble adjusting as a replacement in the previous game. India's forward line includes players like Manvir Singh, Vikram Partap Singh, and David Lalhlansanga, but they haven't said anything yet.

Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Nikhil Poojary, and Rahul Bheke, the India squad's defensive backs, must always be alert as the highly anticipated Qatari team would try to take advantage of any weakness in the Indian team.

Players such as Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, and Lallianzuala Chhangte in the midfield will have to be smart in their movement off the ball and inventive in their passing.

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Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Nikhil Poojary, and Rahul Bheke, the India squad's defensive backs, must always be alert as the highly anticipated Qatari team would try to take advantage of any weakness in the Indian team.

Players such as Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, and Lallianzuala Chhangte in the midfield will have to be smart in their movement off the ball and inventive in their passing.