Indian football fans have been waiting for their country to qualify for the Fifa World Cup. However, it is really not that easy to qualify for it. India would need to perform well in the qualifiers, only then they will be able to play in the World Cup. But how do the qualifiers work? Well for that it is necessary to understand the different stages that India would need to clear.
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Segregation of 9 groups
At the start of the qualifiers, a total of 9 groups are going to be made. Each group is going to consist of four teams. That makes a total of 36 teams. From every group, the top two performers are going to be selected, which means the winner and the runner-up.
3rd round
The top two winners from each 9 groups are going to be selected for the third round. In the third round 18 teams are going to be divided into 3 groups of 6 teams. From each group, the top 2 teams are going to be the winner of round 3. That means a total of 6 winners are going to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What if India does not clear round 3?
In case the Indian football team will not be able to clear round 3, then the road is going to get even tougher for team India. In this situation, they need to ensure that they clear the fourth round.
What is the fourth round?
Out of the 12 teams that did not clear the 3rd round, the top 6 better teams will be selected. These 6 teams are going to be divided into two groups of 3 teams each. The winner of these two teams is going to clear the fourth round. It means the 2 top teams of both groups will join the other 6 teams in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
So, let’s hope that the Indian team qualifies for the FIFA World Cup. That’ll certainly be a dream come true for Indian Football fans.
