Stimac rues ‘injustice’ after India World Cup hopes end

DOHA: India coach Igor Stimac condemned what he called an "irregular" goal in a 2-1 defeat at Qatar that ended his team´s World Cup 2026 qualifying hopes, saying: "It shouldn´t happen."

The loss in Doha on Tuesday dashed India´s dreams of reaching the third round of Asian qualifying for the World Cup for the first time.

India scored in the first half and were on course for a footballing landmark until Youssef Ayman equalised in the 73rd minute.

The goal was hugely controversial, with some television replays appearing to show that the ball had gone out of play just beforehand.

India´s players, some of whom had stopped in the belief the ball had gone out, vehemently protested.