India vs Oman – Anwar Ali Savors Cafa Nations Cup Challenge before AFC Asian Cup qualifications

In his debut appearance at the Cafa Nations Cup 2025, India has a victory, a loss and a draw so far – results that have helped Tajikistan pipping to second place in group B.

The Blue Tigers, under new head coach Khalid Jamil, have shown discipline in the defense that they deposited against Oman in the third place of the play-off round, which will take place on 8 September in Hisor, Tadjikistan.

For India (133rd in the FIFA ranking), a match against higher-ranked Oman (79th) will go a long way to prepare it to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027-It will play two games (road and home) against Singapore next month.

India’s center-back Anwar Ali enjoys the chance to get a different game in an India sweater. “If you get one extra match, it just gives you more time and more confidence, every time you play at this level.

Related: India qualifies play-off for third place at Cafa Nations Cup

«I think it is a good opportunity for us to prepare for the Asian Cup qualifications. We will give it our best on Monday and try to get that third place,» Anwar said.

With Sandesh Jhingan, the rest of the tournament ended after he had contracted a broken jaw in the match against Iran, the role of Anwar in the heart of the India defense, in addition to improvised Center-Back Rahul Bheke, the more important.

The 25-year-old certainly stepped up the role and released an excellent performance in the Pathanistan against Afghanistan, in their last match, an attempt that earned him the player of the Match Award.

«He is clearly a big miss for us, but that’s how things are in football. We hope he will be back soon, but until then the rest of us must continue to fulfill our roles and continue to fill in his boots,» Anwar said.

«I was happy that we could get the result in the last game and that my performance gave me the player of the game. But at the end of the day it was all about teamwork.»

Published on 06 September 2025