India Vs Qatar World Cup qualifier match set to be organized in Bhubneshwar could be postponed as the threat of coronavirus emerges.
Amidst the coronavirus threat, Indian football team faces a probability of getting their World qualifier match against Qatar postponed as fresh reports of COVD-19 patients emerges in India.
The match was scheduled to take place on 26th March in Bhubneshwar, as the hosts of the coming FIFA World Cup were set to travel to India in the international break scheduled at the end of this month.
It is being speculated that the match can be shifted to the later part of the year. Both AFC and FIFA are set to take a decision in the next 24 hours.
India’s World Cup 2022 qualifier against Qatar in Bhubaneswar on March 26 could be postponed to later this year because of the coronavirus outbreak. FIFA and AFC to jointly take a decision, possibly in the next 48 hours#IndianFootball
— Marcus Mergulhao (@MarcusMergulhao) March 3, 2020
India has been underwhelming in the World Cup qualifier after earning only 3 points in the 5 matches while drawing against Afganistan and Bangladesh, whereas giving up a lead in the defeat against Oman.
However, India shocked after they played a draw against Qatar and that too in the away fixture. The Asian champions were expected to thrash the Indian team at their own home.
Now with Qatar travelling to India, the expectations were rising towards the Indian team, but now the match is facing a grave threat amidst a global epidemic.
So far India has confirmed 28 cases of Coronavirus out of which, 16 are tourists from Italy, meanwhile 0 deaths have been reported so far and 3 of the victims have already been discharged after they reportedly recovered from it.
Now it remains to be seen what decision will be taken by the concerned authorities towards the scheduled fixture. Meanwhile, India’s home game against Afghanistan will be hosted in the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on June 9.
Moreover, India will travel to Bangladesh for the away leg scheduled on June 4. The Blue Tigers need to win all of their remaining three matches against Asian champion Qatar, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to move into next round.