The state of Indian football is worsening day by day. India have lost all the five matches so far in the world cup qualifiers, thereby ruling them out of the World Cup race.
The team is languishing in the bottom of the table in group D.
In this hopeless state, the Indians are now only in contention for the 2019 Asian championships. This, too, is in stake and depends on the outcome of the match against to be held on Thursday.
India will be playing Guam this time in Bengaluru and the team must give it all to win this match and stay in contention.
The main reason that is worrying India is poor preparation and form, which have plummeted it to a rank of 172 in the FIFA rankings.
The football system in India is the factor that has led to lack of improper preparation. All India Football Federation has surprisingly chosen to look away from the fact that India need good preparatory camps ahead of international matches and this has upset some of the football players due to it inaction.
Players have complained about poor scheduling of matches as India's World Cup games clashed with the Indian Super League. If the ISL is a great event on one side, the scheduling has made it tough for the players and the frustration has been expressed.
In this precarious situation, India is facing Guam on Thursday in Bengaluru. The players have to take the home advantage and try to qualify for the Asian championships.
Guam is a lot better in the group standings, having beaten India and Turmekistan.
India had faced defeat against Guam in the away match back in June. India's loss to Guam in June was the most shocking as it was expected that the Men in Blue would at least defeat Guam, who were in the 180s in the rankings at that time.
Due to their consistency, Guam have climbed to 152 in the FIFA rankings. India lost 1-2 to Guam, a tiny island with a population of just over 1.5 lakh, in their second World Cup qualifier game in June.
On Thursday, the national team will take on the team once again in the return leg in Bengaluru.
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri believed that Guam is beatable and said, “Yes, Guam is beatable. We were poor against them in the away fixture. That is not acceptable. It wasn't the ground or that we were away. The primary reason was that we were bad. I am sure me and my teammates won't give excuses such as 'it was windy or it was tough.”
India footballers are well aware of Guam's good form and are not taking them lightly. As of now, Guam is on seven points and have beaten two teams, which gives them an edge over India.
Meanwhile, national coach Stephen Constantine has time and again asked the AIFF for more preparation time and better scheduling of the Indian football calendar. Baichung Bhatia, the advisor of AIFF, also said enough time must be given for the players to prepare and the football calendar must be prepared keeping in mind the dates of international matches.
In India, clubs are playing when the national team is competing out. This does not happen anywhere except in India. Therefore the system needs to be changed if India want to progress in World Football.
Srikanth Ranya
