'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
EDIT: The match has kicked off! Follow it here.
The Indian National football team will play Iran in Group D of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on September 8.
Live telecast and streaming
The match will kick off at 7 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) today. It will be telecasted on Sony Kix or Sony Six HD, with the option of live streaming on the SonyLiv website. The official twitter handle of the AIFF and Sportskeeda will be providing live updates throughout the match, for anyone who can’t catch the game otherwise.
Overview
India finds itself at the bottom of their 2018 preliminary joint qualification group, which includes Guam, Oman, Iran and Turkmenistan. The Stephen Constantine-coached side have failed to win either of their previous qualifiers against Oman and Guam earlier in the year, so they find themselves with a tough task against a team that is ranked 115 places above them in the latest FIFA World Rankings.
The 155th ranked Indians played host to Oman in the first match which took place on 11 June in front of an attendance of 19,312 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. They conceded a goal within the first minute of play and managed to level proceedings through captain Sunil Chhetri’s 26th-minute strike, although that was not enough to inspire them to a win as a 40th minute penalty from Al-Hosni sealed the result of the match.
The second fixture saw Stephen Constantine’s team travel to Guam as the favourites, but an ineffectual performance saw them go down 2-1. Goals from Brandon McDonald and Travis Nicklaw gave the home side a comfortable lead as they dominated the match from start to finish before Chhetri scored an injury-time goal to give the scoreline some more respectability and make it two goals in as many games for him.
On the other hand, Carlos Queiroz’s Iran are the highest ranked Asian team in the FIFA World Rankings. The Portuguese coach and his team had already participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup which took place in Brazil and come into this match-up on the back of a 6-0 thrashing of Guam. That result coupled with a 1-1 draw in their opening qualifier against Turkmenistan in June leaves them in third place in the group with four points, behind Oman and Guam who have won two matches each.
Important quotes ahead of the match
Iran Coach Carlos Queiroz: “I have great respect for India as opponents. And I don't see the FIFA Rankings as a parameter to judge. It is 11 versus 11 on the field. Nothing less, nothing more!
“We are playing against a difficult opponent. We need three points and so do India. It'll be tough match for both the Teams. Our opponents have families, friends and fans which is the same like us. They also want to win and so do we.”
India Coach Stephen Constantine: “There is a great deal of respect for Iran but don't mistake that for fear. It's 11 v 11 on the field. If we work hard there is a chance that we can take something from this game. And I believe we can.”
India Captain Sunil Chhetri: “Iran are 40th in the World and the best Team in Asia. The most important thing is to understand what we have trained and how we have trained.”
Head-to-head
The Lions of Persia and the Blue Tigers have played six matches against each other, with the former winning four of those fixtures and the latter winning just once. The only win for India came in the final of the 1951 Asian Games.
The last encounter between the two teams came about in the Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata, which resulted in a 0-3 loss for India.
Team Form
India
- Result of last five fixtures: W-D-L-L-D
- Result of last game: India 0-0 Nepal
Iran
- Result of last five fixtures: W-L-W-D-W
- Result of last game: Iran 6-0 Guam
Possible XIs
- India (4-4-2): Subrata Pal, Narayan Das, Sandesh Jhingan, Arnab Mondal, Pritam Kotal, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Pronay Halder, Francis Fernandes, Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua
Iran (4-4-2): Alireza Haghighi, Hossein Kanaani, Pejman Montazeri, Jalal Hosseini, Vouria Ghafouri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Andranik Teymourian, Vahid Amiri, Ashkan Dejagah, Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun
Betting Odds (bet365)
India to win: 21.00
Draw: 11.00
Iran to win: 1.071
