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31st May’ 18, Mumbai: Indian football team head coach Stephen Constantine termed FIFA rankings as “misleading” and revealed the Blue Tigers' upcoming programme till 2019 AFC Asian Cup where it boils down to the matter of qualification from the group - which the Englishman labelled as his next ‘target’.
Speaking ahead of the Intercontinental Cup, the national team gaffer further went on to state that each of the three teams in the tournament will bring different kinds of problem to counter with but assures that India is ready with its tactical team right on the bunny.
India may be the top-ranked side in the Intercontinental Cup beginning in Mumbai on Friday, but Constantine expects “different problems” from each of the three opponents.
“We will use these games as a preparation for the Asian Cup. We are looking forward to the game against Chinese Taipei tomorrow. Kenya and New Zealand will be giving us different problems. Physically we are prepared and we need to get it right, tactically,” Constantine told the reporters at the pre-tournament press conference.
Throwing light upon Kenya and New Zealand’s decision to field a weakened squad, the national head coach seemed unfazed: “That's something we don't control. Kenya, whoever they bring, will be difficult. I have remained in Africa for five to six years and I know the quality of football they play. As far as New Zealand is concerned, it does not matter whether the players are playing in League One or Championship."
"You have to look at the quality and how good they are. Therefore, I don't necessarily think that this is a problem. We are using these games to develop and improve for the Asian Cup. It is not about FIFA rankings and we will play to the best of our ability against whoever we come up against,” Constantine clarified.
The Englishman who is in his second stint with the Indian team went on to state “In the last three-four years, we have gone to a new level. We have to continue this. It is just not good enough for India to qualify for Asia Cup once in a blue moon. We need to do it every four years on a regular basis. Then only we can think about qualifying for the World Cup in the near future. ISL has raised the bar like never before. It needs to get better with every passing year. There is no turning back from here".
Constantine looked uncomfortable against a certain question that directly collides with his aim from two years back; when he stated that his sole target is to bring the Indian team within the top 100 FIFA ranked nation.
While India has managed to achieve that target, a competitive AFC Asian Cup group draw couldn’t be averted as India is pitted with the hosts UAE, Bahrain and Thailand, all of whom might feel lucky to have India in their group. Constantine’s clarification seemed a bit contradictory to his previous verdict regarding the approach, that he has been following since the last couple of years.
"The FIFA rankings are misleading to some extent, as there are teams who are above us and are not as good as us as well as, there are some teams who are below us but are better than us. It all depends on games and where you play them. I wish I had the ability to fix those but I don't. The importance given to the FIFA rankings is purely for the draw. If you are not in a certain place then you have to go and play qualifiers. If you are in a certain position then you directly qualify. This is the reason which I give importance to FIFA rankings because you need to be at a certain ranking to be considered for that," opined the head coach.
But one might wonder whether the last two years, which saw AIFF being overtly calculative about the friendlies to be played, in the risk of losing out on FIFA points bore fruits or not. Because clearly, this is not the draw that Constantine would’ve wanted to have when his aim was to improve the rankings, solely, to get a favourable fixture in the group stages of the Asian Cup.
He, however, was clear on the part that the team has done a thorough analysis of its opponents through watching video clips and are ready for the challenges.“We have broken down our opponents. "We have had separate sessions with individual players and are looking at the video clips both from matches and training sessions to get better,” Constantine sounded confident.
There are still eight months for the Asian Cup and the gaffer informed that the team has a busy schedule lined up. “We have Asian Games, then SAAF Championships, then we have the October-November windows. There will be a camp before we head to UAE for Asian Cup; quite a busy schedule. There is a lot of football to be played between now and Asian Cup,” the Briton said which might usher some hopes of addition of more new faces prior to the all-important 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Before signing off, Constantine announced the advent of two new support staff who joined the Blue Tigers— Joel Carter and Claus Peeterson and hailed their addition as a long-term visualisation.
“Claus works with individual players who are not quite ready. He is a rehab specialist and the players really enjoy and need the session. Carter is doing match analysis and is a coach in his own right,” the national team gaffer concluded with his sight firm upon clinching the Intercontinental Cup.
India will begin their campaign today at 8 pm when they take on Chinese Taipei to kick-start the Intercontinental Cup.
How well do you think the Indian team will fare in the Intercontinental Cup? Sound off in the comments below!
