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India will host its first two home matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 in Bhubaneswar and Guwahati. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the venues on Saturday, September 2, 2023.
India has been placed in Group A of the Asian qualifying tournament along with Kuwait, Qatar, and the winners of the preliminary joint qualification round one game between Afghanistan and Mongolia. Igor Stimac’s side will open their campaign against Kuwait with an away fixture on November 16, 2023, before hosting reigning AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on November 21, 2023.
AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran said, after the announcement, “We would like to congratulate Football Association of Odisha and Assam Football Association on successfully bidding for the hosting rights of the aforementioned matches, and wish all the success for delivering the said matches at a world-class level with the support from the respective state governments.”
In 2024, India will play back-to-back matches against Afghanistan or Mongolia, starting with the away fixture on March 21, 2024, and then returning home to the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati, where they will play the second leg of the fixture on March 26, 2024. The Afghanistan-Mongolia game is set to take place over two legs on October 12 and 17. The hosts for India’s home leg against Kuwait, which is expected to be played on June 6, will be confirmed at a later date.
