Football: Indian National Team news ...

[jaydeep]

31 places jump ... Wow ... Over-ranked but with smart planning ... Hats off to Stephen Constantine ... Our average position from the introduction of FIFA ranking is 134.

[prasen9]

I knew that Jay had laid it out to us. I am also happy that Constantine and AIFF finally followed the recipe. Can we also do a marketing scheme whereby we drum up some interest in the country? And, if we do that, when we got to play Lebanon or someone else, can we get the players to think that their top-100 ranking is legit and play solidly so that we do not lose. Then, use counter-attacks to score a goal here and there. Lebanon is #137 now. They are usually ranked around the #125 range. I have been to Lebanon and seen some random people play. They seemed to be physically stronger with better basics (at the random club level). At the national level, may be we have 11 players who are strong and can play well to win too. Is it at home or away? Why did we schedule Lebanon if they are ranked below us?

[jaydeep]

Last 13 matches results.

[prasen9]

So, we now want to play Lebanon and Palestine because we want to test ourselves and do not care for the ranking anymore? Or will these meets be called off later so as not to jeopardize the ranking? Just want to know what the strategy is?

[Prashant]

I am just guessing here, but I think these were probably scheduled way in advance of India's climb up the rankings. It makes sense to play Lebanon (ranked about 130) and Palestine (mid 120s) when we were also in the same range. It makes less sense to play them when we are 101.

I skimmed the rankings and was puzzled to see New Zealand ranked way below us. Two World Cups ago, they were unbeaten in group stage. Now they have fallen to #112.

The only Asian countries ranked above us that we might stand a snowball's chance in hell against are China (81) and Qatar (89). The next higher is UAE (74) who would pretty definitely destroy India on any field.

[arjun2761]

FWIW, unofficial ELO ratings for soccer has India at #170.

Perhaps, this is on the lower side but the official FIFA rankings likely overranks us.

[arjun2761]

I suspect our #56 ranked women are also overranked based on their 1-7 to a #42 ranked team.

[prasen9]

The ELO ratings are much more accurate. I think this team is around #150-170.

[prasen9]

Subrata Paul failed a dope test and is looking at a 1-4 year ban.

[rajitghosh]

India is ranked #100 as Malawi lost 31 points. What a joke.
http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/55/main/ ... n=TOInewHP

[Omkara]

India playing like a team ranked 150 in the world

[arjun2761]

India did beat Nepal 2-0 in a friendly in which Nepal was down to 10 men for some part of the second half because of a red card.

[abhishek_bong]

The previous match between India and Kyrgyzstan have forced me to think that if JeJe and Sunil Chetri are trained properly they would be one of the finest football players in Asia

[jaydeep]

The Indians overcame a stiff challenge from the Kyrgyz Republic by a single goal in Bengaluru and gain upper hand in qualifying for the Asian cup ... Sunil Chhetri's second-half goal was enough as the Indians maintained top spot in the group, opening up a three-point lead.

At the 2019 AFC Asian Cup - Third Round Qualification, Bangalore, India

Group A
India bt Kyrgyzstan 1-0 (0-0)
Goal Scored - Sunil Chhetri (IND) 69'

[sameerph]

This extends our unbeaten streak to 8 match which is pretty good although we have mostly player against lower ranked teams.