Beleaguered India confident of victory against Singapore in Asian Cup qualifiers
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India national football coach Khalid Jamil and forward Vikram Partap Singh at a press conference on Oct 8.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Follow topic:
- India's coach Khalid Jamil faces challenges with player conditioning and availability, but remains defiant ahead of the Asian Cup qualifiers.
- The Indian Super League's start is delayed until December due to a Supreme Court request to suspend a renewal of a deal between the Indian football body and a commercial partner until a new AIFF charter is implemented.
- Despite Indian football's turmoil, Singapore are wary of India's distinct soak-and-strike playing style as they go for a win to keep them in a good position to qualify for the Asian Cup.
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SINGAPORE – When the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season
Instead, some of them have found themselves temporarily unemployed. After a 15-year contract between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and commercial partners Football Sports Development Limited ended, India’s Supreme Court on April 26 asked the AIFF not to renew the deal until its order, as there is an ongoing case to implement a new constitution for the AIFF on Oct 12.
As a result, the new ISL season can start only in December, leading to significant ramifications for its players and the national team.
In August, ISL runners-up Bengaluru suspended the salaries of first-team players and staff.
Although there was to be a U-turn in September, Bengaluru captain and Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri, who has 155 caps and 95 international goals, wrote on social media: “Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with.”
On the international front, India coach Khalid Jamil has to work with players who have not had many competitive minutes in the last six months.
Furthermore, the 48-year-old has had problems trying to secure the release of players for training outside the Fifa international window.
Ahead of their Asian Cup Group C qualifier against Singapore at the National Stadium on Oct 9, he said at a pre-match press conference: “About a month ago, we played in the Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup, which was useful for us.
“The players are also very professional and know the importance of the upcoming games. They have been preparing and they have to take responsibility.”
Forward Vikram Partap Singh, who is goal-less in nine appearances, also put up a brave front.
He added: “We trained for almost 20 days before the Cafa Nations Cup and 10 days before coming here. Everyone is ready and everyone is doing what he can.
“Everyone who is a professional player knows how to keep fit, so even when we are not playing in the league, we are doing our best.
“Our approach is simple. We want to win. Everyone is confident to take three points from this game. I don’t think we have problems scoring – it is only a matter of time.”
The league saga is the latest in a series of mishaps for a team described by former Fifa president Sepp Blatter as football’s “sleeping giant”. They qualified for the 2019 and 2023 Asian Cup and were ranked as high as 99th in July 2023.
However, they have since slipped to 134th under Spanish coach Manolo Marquez, who oversaw just one win in eight games before stepping down after their 1-0 Asian Cup qualifying loss to Hong Kong in June. India are bottom of Group C behind Singapore (158th), Hong Kong (146th) and Bangladesh (184th).
In August, former India international Jamil, who was born in Kuwait to Punjabi parents, became the first local coach of the national football team since Savio Medeira stepped down in 2012.
Despite the turmoil, he led the Blue Tigers to third place in the Cafa Nations Cup as an invited team, beating Tajikistan 2-1, losing 3-0 to Iran, and holding Afghanistan to a 0-0 draw. They then beat Oman on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the third-place play-off with a soak-and-strike strategy.
The Lions are not taking their beleaguered opponents lightly.
Singapore interim head coach Gavin Lee said: “We watched a lot of their games. They have a very distinct style of playing and they are very effective with it.
“Our job is to make sure we do that simple stuff to the very best we can and put ourselves into positions around the penalty area as often as we can, take our chances and at the same time secure the back door.”
National skipper Hariss Harun added: “We know what kind of style they prefer, but we need to be ready for the unexpected tomorrow.
“We are aware we can still improve to impose ourselves for longer periods, or for the whole game if possible. It’s challenging, but we have to rise up to it.”
