Football: Indian National Team news ...

[jayakris]

Yes, we won the SAF cup by beating Nepal soundly (3-0) in the end... The man called "who else" started it off early in the second half and then Suresh Singh added one more soon, and then Sahal Abdul Samad scored in injury time at the end.

Looks like Stimac may have saved his job but he still has very little margin of error. Chhetri is up to 80 international goals now. Tied with Messi for 6th all-time in international goals, if I am not mistaken.

[Omkara]

Ideally we should be beating these guys 5-0 or more. So I am not that elated. There are a lot more new faces. Maybe he is trying new guys. So there maybe a silver line. Real test is Asia Cup

[prasen9]

3-0 is fine. After the horror show during the league phase.

[Omkara]

Yeah true.

[Kumar]

https://indianexpress.com/article/sport ... c-7580612/

Not only central defence, all areas are a problem for us,” he said. “With pandemic going around, we have a season that won’t last for eight-nine months. That’s the biggest problem for Indian football. Working like this, where players come to the national team during offseason, it’s terrible.”
Stimac was spot on with his diagnosis of the main problem facing Indian football – the flawed domestic structure. But it isn’t just because of the pandemic. The outbreak of Covid-19 last year might have delayed the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) plans to have a longer season, but it’s not a recent problem.
For almost a decade, the unnaturally short domestic season has hindered player development, which has had a cascading impact on the national team

[jayakris]

^^^ Those were sensible comments from Stimac. I am glad that, at least for the time being, he is not being fired or anything. Let him stay on for a bit more. Firing coaches too frequently doesn't help.

Meanwhile, India moved up one spot after the SAFF cup, to #106 in the latest FIFA rankings that came out this week.

[prasen9]

And, it bears out in the results. In the first few games, the team was getting match fit. It is a shame. He should get two teams and get his assistant to coach one. Have them play three matches with high intensity saying that whoever plays well will be selected. And, then get the players match-fit. It is really a shame that they play so less. When we were young, the players, at least in the major clubs played a lot. They would play the local leagues, and then several national tournaments. The Kolkata league used to go on for 2-3 months maybe, then we had the Santosh Trophy, Federation Cup, Rovers, Durand, IFA Shield, there was a cup in Sikkim I think, and a few other smaller tournaments. They would pretty much play all around the year in so much that some would not have time to let their injuries heal before the next season started.

It is a good idea that we have professional teams and a super league/I league or whatever it is called. But, they should not just play 10-16 games a year but these teams should also play other tournaments. Or else, enlarge the number of games. It is idiotic to play this few games a year.

[Omkara]

In the U 23 AFC, we beat Oman 2-1. I don't know how good is that. Our intent is to be second in a group with UAE and Kyrgyzstan..

[Atithee]

In the U 23 AFC, we beat Oman 2-1. I don't know how good is that. Our intent is to be second in a group with UAE and Kyrgyzstan..

That’s our intent? Or, aspiration?

[prasen9]

Well, our intent and aspiration is to win all matches. But, realistically, aiming for at least #2 to qualify for the next round, I think.

[Omkara]

[jayakris]

Haha... "Our intent is to be second" .... That just sounds bad, though we know what you mean.

"We aspire to be second" is even worse though!

[prasen9]

Alternatively, Atithee is saying that we are so bad, that our dreams and aspirations are barely to reach second. Omkara is saying we are trying to be second.

[arjun2761]

Haha... "Our intent is to be second" .... That just sounds bad, though we know what you mean.

"We aspire to be second" is even worse though!

So it is more like they are dreaming about coming 2nd!

[Omkara]

We did well against UAE. We lost 1-0. We played well, defended well. UAE was lucky. Our next games are critical as we need a better GD to qualify as the second best team in the group.