Argentina's football maestro and Diego Maradona's successor, Lionel Messi, had a remarkable year, paralleling the groundbreaking success of the Sunil Chhetri-led Indian football team, thriving under the guidance of Igor Stimac.
Bengaluru FC will step into a new chapter of the club as Gerard Zaragoza returns to the outfit in the capacity of a head coach with his opening fixture being against Jamshedpur FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 on Saturday.
The Blue Tigers have been drawn in Group B, alongside Australia (January 13), Uzbekistan (January 18), and Syria (January 23). The top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placed finishers (out of six) will make their way into the Round of 16
Nikhil Prabhu, Dimitrios Chatziisaias and Luka Majcen scored for Punjab FC while Harsh Patre, Curtis Main and Javi Hernandez scored for Bengaluru. Bengaluru levelled the match from two goals behind denying Punjab FC their first win of the season
Mustafa Meshaal (4'), Almoez Ali (47') and Yusuf Abdurisag (86') registered their names on the scoresheet for Qatar. India had a solid phase near the end of the first half but overall they were no match for the quality offered by Asian champions Qatar.
Ahead of India's World Cup Qualifier match against Qatar at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, Blue Tigers' goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu hoped to achieve more success with the national football team in the coming years.
India's next clash is against World number 61 Qatar on November 21 in their second group A match. Group A also features Afghanistan. These four teams will play each other in home-aeay round-robin format.
The 39-year-old has helped Indian football gain recognition worldwide and helped the 'Blue Tigers' win matches in many games. The Indian skipper's contribution to Indian football have helped India climb up in the FIFA rankings and bag multiple trophies.
In the World Cup 2026 qualifiers round, India have drawn alongside Qatar, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. The 'Blue Tigers' need to secure a top-two spot to advance to the next round.