Joint qualification

The All India Football Federation: The All India Football Federation on Saturday announced Bhubaneswar and Guwahati as the venues for the first two home matches of India in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2.

India have been drawn in Group A of the Asian qualifiers, alongside Qatar, Kuwait, and the winners of the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 fixture between Afghanistan and Mongolia.

The Blue Tigers will open their campaign against with an away fixture in Kuwait on November 16, 2023, before hosting reigning AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, on November 21, 2023.