India and Afghanistan settled for a 0-0 draw after failing to turn their opportunities into goals in a Group A fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday. With India and Afghanistan resorting to open football, the first-half (45+3) saw a wave of attacking moves but the strikers were not able to come alive in the final.
Afghanistan lost both of their opening fixtures – to Qatar, the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions, and Kuwait. India won one and lost one in the two group-stage matches, but moved above Kuwait into second spot following the latter’s 3-0 defeat in Qatar. The teams face each other again in the group’s return fixture on Tuesday in India, where the hosts will be determined to claim three points against the country bottom of the group.