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#1) Performance against top-ranked sides/ Asian heavyweights
Though Team India qualified to the AFC Asian Cup after topping the Group A with four wins out of their six matches (four wins, one draw and one loss), their performance against the top ranked Kyrgyzstan side was not top-notch. The Blue Tigers earned a hard-fought 1-0 win at home against the Kyrgyz Republic side, who are currently ranked 150 (according to the new Elo rankings).
In the final match of Group A against the same opposition at Bishkek (away), Team India failed to replicate the result they produced earlier, thereby losing 1-2. Though India brushed aside the other teams in Group A- Myanmar and Macau, the fact to be noted is that both these teams are ranked 182 and 223 (according to Elo rankings) respectively. India's performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was very disappointing, as they finished at the bottom of the five team Group with just one win out of eight games.
In the World Cup qualifiers, India struggled against the higher ranked sides such as Iran and Oman and even failed to defeat a slightly lower-ranked,Turkmenistan on both occasions. Their only win came against the Guam side who are currently at 207 according to the rankings.India who are currently 159 (in Elo rankings) will be up against the hosts UAE (ranked 74), Thailand (113th) and Bahrain (104th) in the Group A fixtures at the AFC Asian Cup next year. They need to fight hard against these top ranked Asian heavyweights to have any chance of qualifying for the next round. They need to learn their lessons from the defeats against the top-ranked sides (Iran, Oman) in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
