Sport

Afghanistan and India play out goalless draw in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2024

The Indian men’s football team was held to a goalless draw by Afghanistan in its Group A match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers at the Damac Club Stadium in Abha, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Courtesy the result, India, 117th in the FIFA Rankings, moved up to the second place in Group A with four points from three matches, leapfrogging Kuwait who have three points. World No. 158 Afghanistan are bottom of the four-team group with one point, Olympics.com reported.

The Indian football team has also now failed to score in its last five outings. Manvir Singh’s winner vs Kuwait on November 16, 2023 is the last time the Indian team managed an international goal.

A feisty midfield battle ensued in the opening exchanges. While Afghanistan looked to use their pace and physicality to assert dominance, India were intent on playing a passing game.

Vikram Partap Singh, who had earned his senior national team debut in January, made the starting XI for the first time in his career and consistently troubled the Afghanistan defence. The forward kept drifting in between the centre and the wing, often switching with Manvir Singh, which caused much confusion in the Afghanistan ranks.

As the match wore on, the Indian midfield slowly began to assert control. Lallianzuala Chhangte, prancing down the left, found an unmarked Manvir with a low cross. The latter, who had drifted inside from the right flank, sent his shot wide.

Despite India’s control over the game, Afghanistan kept creating chances of their own, especially on the counter. Mosawer Ahadi was released down the right flank before cutting in and unleashing a left-footed curler that India custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu caught with both hands.

Manvir had more than one opportunity to score in the first-half itself, first from a corner by Chhangte and then from a cross whipped in by fullback Nikhil Poojary. However, both went begging as the first-half came to a close.

Vikram Pratap, too, missed a few in the second-half.

Twice, he was played in behind the Afghanistan defence. While on the first occasion, the ball was just a yard too far, the 22-year-old managed to wriggle past his marker in the second opportunity, only to make the angle too narrow for himself to take a crack at goal.

Vikram’s last opportunity came just minutes ahead of the hour mark when he managed to get into the six-yard box, unmarked, and connected a header onto a cross by Akash Mishra. The effort went inches wide.

Vikram’s night, however, soon came to an end. A mistimed tackle earned him a booking, and head coach Igor Stimac took the opportunity to replace him with Brandon Fernandes.

Afghanistan kept resorting to the counter-attacks and had arguably their best scoring opportunity of the game in the 62nd minute when Rahmat Akbari’s low cross found Omid Popalzay in the Indian box but Rahul Bheke intervened just in time to shrug the Afghanistan midfielder off the ball.

Stimac made a host of changes with a quarter of an hour left on the clock, bringing on Liston Colaco, Mahesh Naorem, and Deepak Tangri. Colaco found a lot of joy down the right, frequently sending in crosses but the Afghanistan defence managed to deal with them.

Subhasish Bose, who had earlier replaced Mishra, also managed to get a free header inside the Afghanistan box, as he nodded a Colaco corner inches wide of the target.

As the match wore into injury time, Colaco created one last opportunity, sprinting down the right flank. His low cross missed captain Sunil Chhetri but landed at Mahesh’s feet, who tried to create space for a shot but lost possession.

The Afghan men’s football team will again play India in its next match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers on March 26 in Guwahati.

Related Topics:#َAfghanistan featured Football India Sport

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Early medal leaders emerge as Winter Olympics continue in Italy

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

Ariana News

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games continued to build momentum over the weekend as the early medal race took shape and athletes delivered standout performances across venues in northern Italy.

After the first days of competition, Italy, Japan and Norway sit among the early leaders on the medal table, each with three medals apiece, including one gold, one silver and one bronze. Sweden follows with two medals, while Switzerland, Slovenia, Canada and China have each secured one medal so far.

Host nation Italy provided one of the Games’ early highlights with its first gold medal, sparking celebrations among home supporters and boosting confidence as competition intensifies.

Elsewhere, traditional winter sports powerhouses have begun asserting themselves in disciplines including speed skating, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing, while team sports such as curling and ice hockey are settling into early round-robin play.

Attention now turns to Monday’s schedule, which features another full day of competition and several medal events. Athletes are set to compete across alpine skiing, speed skating, luge, cross-country skiing and figure skating, while preliminary and group-stage action continues in curling and ice hockey.

With qualification battles tightening, results on Monday are expected to further reshape the standings.

As the Winter Games move deeper into their opening week, storylines are rapidly emerging around defending champions, rising stars and nations looking to build early momentum in the medal race.

Ariana Television holds the exclusive rights to broadcast Winter Olympic events across Afghanistan, providing live coverage to viewers nationwide throughout the Games.

Fans are encouraged to follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for updated schedules, programming information, highlights and results as the competition continues in Milan and Cortina.

Sport

Champions League Elite action continues as qualification race tightens

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

Ariana News

The AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 returns with an action-packed slate of matches today as top Asian clubs continue their battle for qualification in the league stage of the continent’s premier club competition.

With the margin for error narrowing, teams across the region are expected to approach today’s fixtures with urgency as the race toward the knockout rounds intensifies.

Monday’s scheduled matches include:

Al-Wahda vs Al AhliNasaf Qarshi vs Al-ShortaAl Duhail vs SharjahShabab Al-Ahli vs Al Hilal

The fixtures bring together established continental contenders and ambitious challengers, promising a day of tactical contests, attacking football and high-stakes drama as clubs look to strengthen their positions in the standings.

All Champions League Elite matches scheduled for today, February 9, will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television, giving fans across Afghanistan and the region full access to Asia’s top club football action.

Fans are encouraged to follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for updated match schedules, kickoff times and programming information, as well as highlights and post-match coverage.

As the road to continental glory continues, today’s Champions League Elite fixtures are expected to deliver another compelling chapter in the 2025/26 season.

Sport

New Zealand cruise past Afghanistan by five wickets in T20 World Cup

Despite the strong batting display, Afghanistan struggled to contain New Zealand’s deep and aggressive batting lineup.

Published

2 days ago

February 8, 2026

Ariana News

New Zealand produced a confident all-round performance to defeat Afghanistan by five wickets, chasing down a target of 183 with 13 balls to spare in their first match of the T20 World Cup in India’s Chennai on Sunday.

Afghanistan, batting first, posted a competitive 182 for 6 from their 20 overs, built around a powerful knock from Gulbadin Naib, who top-scored with 63 off 35 balls. Naib’s innings, laced with clean hitting and smart placement, gave Afghanistan much-needed momentum after a mixed start. Contributions from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27) and Sediqullah Atal (29) helped steady the innings, while late runs pushed the total beyond the 180 mark.

Despite the strong batting display, Afghanistan struggled to contain New Zealand’s deep and aggressive batting lineup.

New Zealand’s chase was anchored by Tim Seifert, who set the tone at the top with a fluent 65 off 42 balls, attacking both pace and spin with ease. Although early wickets fell, Glenn Phillips swung the match decisively with a blistering 42 off 25 deliveries, keeping the required run rate firmly in check.

The middle order ensured there were no late jitters, with Daryl Mitchell (25 not out) and captain Mitchell Santner (17 not out) calmly guiding the team home in 17.5 overs, finishing at 183 for 5.

Afghanistan’s bowlers found moments of success, particularly Mujeeb Ur Rahman, but were unable to apply sustained pressure as New Zealand consistently found boundaries during key phases of the chase.

Afghanistan will face South Africa in their next match on Wednesday.