For a long time, India has prided itself on being good at cricket. If you were to ask most people where this country excels, they would not think of football. After all, that is not the picture that has been painted in the past few decades. However, India is now working to change this and now wants to become a big name in football. And to do this, it has focused on nurturing football talent in the younger generations and propelling the growth of the Indian Super League. These changes have enabled it to stand out in the FIFA rankings. Soon enough, when punters head to 888sport to place their cricket bets, they will also be backing the Indian national team in football. But is the team ready for the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
The team ranks third in FIFA Group E with 7 points, with Afghanistan and Bangladesh following closely with 6 and 2 points, respectively. They all qualify for the Asian Cup qualifying third round. India is set to face Cambodia on the 8th of June 2022 and then play against Afghanistan on the 11th of June 2022. The competition will finish off with a game against Hong Kong on the 14th of June 2022, after which the fate of India will be evident to its fans.
India has been working hard to make it to the top Asian football leagues. By October 2021, it had risen to 19 out of the 46 Asian nations and had worked its way to 106th worldwide. Its coaches hope that it can finally play against teams like Australia, Iran, and Japan someday. But how will it get there?
The Indian National Team for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers
First, it has the Indian Super League to back its efforts. At first, this league was relatively small and was then known as the I-League, which did not have much of a standing in the football world. It was then replaced by the ISL, which attracted a lot of investment in the football arena. Indian football players enjoy great training grounds and stadiums sprawled across the country. Moreover, the team has now attracted more stars from across the globe, including big names from Europe and South America. Thus, as far as training goes, the team has a leg up in readiness for the upcoming playoffs in the qualifying round.
Secondly, the team has invested in seeking talent from the Indian grassroots. In so doing, it has managed to focus on the crème de la crème of the players, which makes it as competitive as other talent-focused teams in the leagues. The management has also reduced the number of foreign players, pushing for a more Indian team. It helps them train the players from an early stage, ensuring that they are ready for the higher leagues. There have been talks about increasing the number of clubs and promoting the league – this would introduce the pressure of relegation and force players to work much harder.
Even so, the Indian team has a long way to go. Unlike other football-oriented nations, the ISL is relatively short. It runs for about five months on average. As such, the players end up with a lot of downtime, during which their talent is not fully in use. Add the effects of the COVID pandemic, and the team is at a disadvantage. Thus, the team might not perform optimally in the upcoming matches. In the future, we expect the team to do much better and even make it to the top 100 FIFA teams.
Pic: Courtesy FIFA
