2023-07-08 12:25:01
India is not going to play World Cup football even when an Indian steps foot on Mars!’- a cruel joke that was popular until a few years ago. But the current hope is that the Indian team will play the World Cup even before an Indian sets foot on the moon. The reasons for this are the recent form of the national team and FIFA’s increase in the number of teams competing in the World Cup and the corresponding changes to the Asian qualifying round. The door to the World Cup is slightly open for India. India can play in one of the upcoming World Cups if they catch up.
Why India?
∙ FIFA has increased the number of teams competing in the World Cup from 32 to 48 from 2026.
∙ Change in Asian qualification. 8 teams can qualify for the World Cup from Asia directly and one team by winning a massive playoff.
∙ Indian team’s achievement in FIFA ranking. As one of the top 27 teams in Asia, India will qualify directly for the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.
India is currently ranked 18th in Asia. With this, they can be included in Pot 2 of the second round. This will help to get lower ranked teams as opponents.
Asian route map
The Asian Qualifiers of the World Cup will be held in 5 rounds. Teams ranked up to 45th in Asia according to FIFA ranking can compete.
First round
Teams ranked 28-45 in Asia compete here. 9 two-legged knockout matches between two teams. The 9 winning teams will qualify for the second round. India is currently ranked 18th in Asia and is not required to play this round.
Second round
The teams from 1st to 27th place in Asia and the teams who won the first round earlier are competing here. Total 36 teams.
The competition is divided into 9 groups of 4 teams. The groups will be decided on a pot basis according to the FIFA rankings. This is where progress in the FIFA rankings will help India.
Pot 1: Teams ranked 1–9 in Asia
Pot 2: Teams ranked 10–18 in Asia. India will be included in this.
Pot 3: Teams ranked 19–27 in Asia.
Pot 4: 9 teams who won the first round.
9 groups of 4 teams with one team drawn from each pot. That means India will have only one top-ranked team in the group. The remaining 2 teams will be ranked lower than India. India can look forward to the next round with a sense of reality as the group winners and runners-up will advance to the next round. These 18 teams will also qualify for the next Asian Cup.
Third round
The 18 teams that made it to the second round will be divided into 3 groups. After matches on a home-away basis, the winners and runners-up of each group (6 teams in total) will qualify directly for the World Cup. It could be tough for India. But the possibilities are endless. The third and fourth place finishers in each group advance to the next round.
Fourth round
3 World Cup berths (including major playoffs) remain from Asia. 6 teams are competing. Home-away matches divided into 2 groups of three teams each. The group winners will directly qualify for the World Cup.
5th round play-off between 2 teams finishing second in each group. The winning team will qualify for the playoffs. A direct win against another mainland team can qualify for the World Cup.
SAVE THE DATE July 27th
The day of the group stage draw for the Asian qualifiers. India’s hopes for the next round will increase if they get relatively less tough opponents. The group is decided by taking one team from each pot.
Teams in each pot and FIFA rankings
Pot 1: Japan (20), Iran (22), Australia (27), South Korea (28), Saudi Arabia (53), Qatar (58), Iraq (70), UAE (72), Oman (73)
Pot 2: Uzbekistan (74), China (79), Jordan (82), Bahrain (86), Syria (94), Vietnam (95), Palestine (96), Kyrgyzstan (97), India (100)
Pot 3: Lebanon (102), Tajikistan (109), Thailand (113), North Korea (115), Philippines (135), Malaysia (137), Turkmenistan (138), Kuwait (141), Hong Kong (149).
Pot 4: 9 teams who win the first round. Know this later.
World Cup qualification from Asia: 9 teams
India ranks 18th among Asian teams
* The final seeding is according to the FIFA ranking on July 20. However, India’s 18th position in Asia will not be lost as there is no competition between India and Lebanon, which is right behind.
English Summary: Will Indian team qualify for worldcup football in near future
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