India’s first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was on Sunday named the captain of the team for the must-win 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar here.

India will play hosts Qatar in the return fixture at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday. The India senior men’s team landed in Doha on Saturday night for the match in which a win could pave the way for a maiden entry into the third round of World Cup qualifiers.