FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: India have revenge on their minds
At the beginning of their campaign, India were 33 places above Guam in the FIFA rankings. Stephen Constantine’s men were seen much superior to their tiny, nondescript opponents who were the whipping boys of the region.
That was June. As the teams face-off tomorrow at the Kanteerva Stadium in Bangalore for their crucial 2018 World Cup/2019 Asian Cup qualifier, things couldn’t be starker. An unprecedented run of defeats have seen India’s rankings plummet and at 172, they are now placed 17 spots below Guam. And the whipping boys have turned into wonder boys following a string of impressive performances.
Both India and Guam go into Thursday’s match with contrasting ambitions. For Guam, three points would mean they would leapfrog to second place and be firm favourites to progress to the third round of World Cup qualifying, as well as earn a direct spot in the Asian Cup. For India, it goes beyond mere three points and notching up their first win of the campaign.
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Although he is enjoying the backing of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the moment, Constantine knows that failure to win this match would further weaken his position. There’s a section within the federation already gunning for his head after India failed to collect even one point in their five outings so far. Consequently, India are placed at the bottom of the five-team Group D. And barring a miracle, it’s unlikely they will finish higher at the end of the group stage.
It has severely jeopardised their hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup, and India know they will have to win at least two out of the three remaining games (third being away at Iran) to keep their hopes alive for making the cut for a playoff for the next round of continental qualifiers.
The mood within the India camp was encapsulated by captain Sunil Chhetri, when he described this as the most important match of his career. It was a statement that Guam coach Gary White sent to all his players, using it as a motivation tool for his players to put in extra effort. White is here with a full-strength squad, including their star defender AJ DeLaGarza, who plays for LA Galaxy in USA’s Major League Soccer.
‘Guam favourites’
Constantine conceded Guam are the favourites for the tie. “Guam have seven points. They are above us in the FIFA rankings. So on paper they are the favourites. But at the end of the day its what you do on the pitch which determines the result,” he said.
In their previous encounter in June, Guam had outplayed India to earn a 2-1 defeat — a result that deflated India’s confidence. It is seen as one of the most uninspiring and insipid performances by an Indian team in recent history — a result that is seen as a combination of fielding young, inexperienced players as well as a team lacking cohesion and quality.
Constantine blamed lack of match practice and training time as reasons for the debacle but going into Thursday’s game, he will have no such excuses. The Indian players have had a busy season shuffling between national team duties and the Indian Super League. And while they have looked pale and listless in India colours, Chhetri and Co. have shone in the ISL.
Chhetri has led the resurgence of Indian players in the ISL, regularly finding the net for Mumbai City while also becoming the first from the country to score a hat-trick in the league. His striker partner at Bangalore FC and India, Robin Singh, who has been severely criticised for average performances with the national team, has scored twice for Delhi Dynamos while Eugeneson Lyngdoh has once again shown why he remains India’s best midfielder with some sparkling performances for Pune City. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu too will be high on confidence after he returned from a successful season at Stabaek, which saw his team qualify for next year’s Europa League.
Constantine would hope his players will carry on their fine form with the national team challenge, though he realises how hard the situation is. “When I came here in 2015, I was under no illusion as to the difficulties and challenges that lay ahead. We had not qualified for any group stage tournament for eight years. The fact that we have returned to the qualifiers is a minor achievement in itself,” he said.
“In my first press conference in Delhi I had told everybody present that this is going to be a long and difficult road and it will take time to regain our pride in Asian football. In this time, we have blooded 16 debutants and have changed the attitude and atmosphere of the players. And if you look at three of our five qualifiers, we have lost by the odd goal. I believe that this group of players that we have and the others that will follow will make us into a competitive team in the months and years to come,” he added.
India have played two matches at the Kanteerva Stadium in Bangalore during this campaign and have lost both, first to Oman (2-1) and then Iran (3-0). Constantine will hope at the third attempt, his side finally finds some luck.
‘India playing for pride’
White, meanwhile, insisted his side’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup are still good. He attributed the reasons for the team’s success on a strong technical staff, which he said has worked relentlessly over the last few months. “Our chances to qualify for the World Cup are good. Who would have thought that we would have seven points and can still qualify back when the draw was announced in April? I have put together a strong technical staff as good as any where in Asia. Our goalkeeping coach (Adrian Creamer) worked earlier at Watford, our fitness coach (Andrew Young) has worked in Australia and Fulham. We have an excellent coaching staff combined with the best local coaches,” he said.
“The resources the Guam federation’s president, Richard Lai has given at my disposal is been fantastic. We are a professional outfit that has big goals. And qualification was always on our minds. I told them in April they thought I was crazy. Its fine because of the kind of results they have had in the past and hence you can’t blame them,” he mentioned.
White also took a dig at India, saying they just want to play for pride, while his side is still in contention for the World Cup. “We dominated the game back in Guam. We were disappointed to have conceded a late goal. After the game the players were extremely moody in the dressing room. They should be celebrating but because we conceded in the 92nd minute, the players were disappointed which goes to show how far our players have come. It’s a different thing when you play away,” he said. “We also know that India have got to show that they have some pride. They cannot qualify but we can. We have to ensure that our motivations and passion beats theirs. One team can qualify for the World Cup while the other wants to prove. This game will be a lot different to the game in Guam,” he explained.
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