If anyone was asked to predict the result when Iran take on India on Thursday night, almost everyone would favour the home side. Iran are currently ranked 44 in the FIFA Rankings while India are way down in 160th place - 116 places away.
To make matters worse, the Blue Tigers are without a number of key players, especially in attack. Three Indians have scored four goals so far in this round of World Cup qualifiers – two of those players are out with injuries.
Although the absence of Sunil Chettri and Robin Singh will be felt, India can still achieve quite a few things in their match against Iran.
We take a look at 5 things India can achieve from the World Cup qualifier against Iran.
1. Chance to shine on a big stage
Any sport in India other than cricket has always struggled to capture people’s imaginations. The Indian football team has a wonderful chance to gain some recognition by putting up a good show against the best Asian team in the world – Iran.
Although this match will not have any bearing on the qualification standings, a good showing against the mighty Asian giants will definitely help the blue tigers to gain some respect and recognition from fans in India.
Any international match is a huge match no matter what the stakes are and a good showing in a world cup qualifier will help Constantine and his men to get some much needed confidence and will also help to improve the abysmal world ranking of 160.
2. Experience for the future
The Blue tigers have travelled with an incredibly young squad. The average age of the 22 man squad is around 24 and there are four players who have not made their international debut as yet. With India expected to play a youthful squad, we can expect some debuts in today’s match.
The importance and magnitude of the match was best summed up by Constantine in an interview on the AIFF website:
“Playing Iran in Iran is as tough as it can get,” comments Constantine. “It’s like David vs Goliath on the field. Iran are the Giants of Asia.”
“We always look forward to compete against the best and Iran are one of the Best Teams in Asia. The Azadi Stadium is an unbelievable Stadium and presents one of the best atmospheres that I have witnessed as a Coach,” he states.
Playing a match of this stature in a cauldron like atmosphere away from home will definitely be a good learning experience for the young Indian squad.
3. Chance to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
India are already out of World Cup contention. As much as Constantine has tried to tinker with the lineups in the recent qualifiers to blood some young players, they are mathematically out of contention now that they are bottom of the group with just one win.
However, the AFC Asian Cup is still a possibility. Among the eight groups in Asia, the four best fourth-placed teams move on to the Asian Cup qualifying third round. The other four fourth-placed teams go into a playoff to qualify.
But the bad news is that India are currently fifth – four points behind fourth-placed Guam (who have just one game left). The good news is that their goal difference is better than Guam but Iran could change that drastically.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 17 | 14 |
| 2 | Oman | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 | Turkmenistan | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 10 |
| 4 | Guam | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 7 |
| 5 | India | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 3 |
If India are to qualify, they must ideally get at least a draw against Iran and beat Turkmenistan in Kochi on 29 March. At the same time, Guam should lose their final game against Oman. The Indian team would have definitely achieved some sort of a miracle if they manage to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
4. Salvaging pride and respect from the World Cup qualifiers campaign
It will not be wrong to say that the Blue Tigers have underperformed in this World Cup qualifiers campaign. They currently occupy the last spot in their qualifying group and although the group consists of Asia’s top-ranked team Iran, they were still expected to put up a better show against the other countries in the group.
India have just a solitary win in this campaign which came against Guam. With Guam, Turkmenistan and Oman ranked at 156, 117 and 82 respectively, the Indian national team would have definitely expected to perform much better in this campaign.
However, Constantine has constantly chopped and changed and after an impressive victory against Afghanistan in the SAFF cup with a youthful squad, India will be hoping for a better performance in the two remaining matches of their World Cup qualifiers.
5. Inspiration for the U-17 World Cup to be held in India
A global event will be coming to India next year and as host nation, India has already qualified for the 2017 U-17 World Cup. It is a huge step in the right direction for Indian football and a competitive performance in the tournament will go a long way in popularising the sport in this country.
The Indian team was full of youngsters in the recently concluded SAFF Cup where India triumphed and in the South Asian Games where India lost in the finals. A national team full of young players will only serve as an inspiration to the young U-17 footballers training hard for the World Cup.
A good performance by the Indian national team filled with youngsters will prove to the world that the future of Indian football is indeed bright. It will also provide encouragement to the youngsters who will now know that their consistent and good performances will be rewarded with chances in the national team.
