Muscat: India lost 0-1 to Oman in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers, here at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Stadium on Tuesday.Mohsin Al Ghassani scored the all-important goal in the 33rd minute as Oman beat India for the second time in the campaign. Earlier, Oman had defeated India 2-1 in the first leg in September in Guwahati.
With just three points from five matches, India remain at fourth spot in the Group E table, headed by Asian champions Qatar who have 13 points from five matches. Oman are at second spot with 12 points.
With a nine point gap with the second-place team (Oman) in the group table, India are almost out of the reckoning for a third round berth. They have only three more matches -- maximum nine points -- left to play in this second round of the qualifiers.
However, India is still in the hunt for a third-round berth for the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.
This campaign is also a joint qualifying round for the 2023 Asian Cup and the third-placed teams and the best four fourth-placed teams from the eight groups automatically get a spot in the third round of the qualifiers of the continental championships.(UNI)