Reportedly winless in four games so far in an increasingly disappointing campaign, the indian football team faces higher ranked oman in a do or dies world cup qualifying round match here on Tuesday. Furthermore a first half strike from sunil Chhetri gave india hopes of beating oman in the first leg in guwahati in september but it ultimately turned out to be so near yet so far as the Gulf nation struck twice in the final 10 minutes to outwit the home side.
Apparently oman is coming into this match after an emphatic (4-1) win over bangladesh here on november 14. Meanwhile india, on the other hand, are struggling after an impressive goal-less draw against Asian champions qatar as they needed late equalizers in their identical 1-1 draws against lower-ranked bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Moreover 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. Apparently india is no longer dependent on only Chhetri to score the goals but the inability to convert the chances has cost the team dear.
