This fitness challenge is not for the faint-hearted.
The Indian football team showed a lot of character and resilience in its title-winning Intercontinental Cup campaign and the attitude would be crucial to ensuring that the country doesn't just make up the numbers in next year's AFC Asian Cup, believes national coach Stephane Constantine.
Star striker Sunil Chhetri is among a 28-strong Indian probable squad announced for the 2018 soccer World Cup preliminary qualifying round matches against Iran and Turkmenistan.
Riding on a brace from star striker Sunil Chhetri, India defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the second international friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Chennaiyin FC lifted their game to a level befitting the occasion and sent fancied Bengaluru FC crushing to a painful 2-3 defeat, clinching the Indian Super League title in style, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
Both teams had their chances in the match and just when all had thought that points would be split, substitute Marjan Jugovic leapt to head in a perfect Sunil Chhetri free-kick taken from the edge of the box.
Sunil Chhetri led former champions Bengaluru FC to a 1-0 win over East Bengal with his second-half strike that consolidated their position atop the standings in the I-League football at the Vidyasagar Krirangan, in Barasat, on Saturday.
India thrashed Nepal 4-1 at the Trivandrum International Stadium, in Kerala, on Sunday, to finish on top of Group A and seal a place in the semi-finals.
Bengaluru FC dropped their first points at home this season after a fortuitous goal allowed Minerva Punjab FC claim a point with a 1-1 draw at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
In what was a repeat of last season's final at the same venue, Miku's 41st minute strike was enough for the Blues to overcome the visitors' challenge.
But how much has the national team actually improved?
A winless India must beat Bangladesh on Monday if they want to jump to third spot in Group E standings and keep themselves afloat for a direct berth in the Asian Cup third qualifying round.
Former India football captain Baichung Bhutia was given the Lifetime Achievement award, while hockey legend and three-time Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Sr was honoured with the Icon of the Century award.
Defending champions ATK Kolkata scored their maiden victory in this year's Indian Super League when they got the better of Mumbai City FC 1-0 in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Indian football team put up a better display in their second group game but lost 2-0 to a superior Jordan thus ending their campaign in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Monday.
Striker Sunil Chhetri struck twice as the Indian national football team scored a narrow 3-2 victory over Portuguese second division side Sertanense FC in a practice match at Santarem, around 60kms from Lisbon.
The Indian football team has re-entered the top-100 of the FIFA world rankings and is now placed at 99th at the latest chart released on Thursday.
The former India captain says he will consider contesting for the president of AIFF in the future.
With the Gorkhaland agitation going slow following strong measures taken by the administration, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Friday held out an olive branch to the West Bengal government, saying it wanted to clear 'misunderstandings' with it.
Needing to overturn a 0-1 first leg defeat in their away match on September 27, Bengaluru conceded a goal in as early as the fourth minute when Nuriddin Davronov converted a penalty, to put the Tajikis 1-0 up.
'Guarding the borders in extreme weather conditions is not easy and most people don't realize it is a very tough job.'
India's national football coach Stephen Constantine on Friday anointed towering goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as captain for Saturday's international friendly against higher-ranked Puerto Rico at the suburban Andheri Sports Complex ground in Mumbai. "Gurpreet Singh Sandhu will captain the team on Saturday against Puerto Rico," Constantine announced at the fag end of the pre-match media conference to give a huge boost to the 24-year-old, one of the youngest players to lead the national football team.
After constant pressure, Bengaluru were finally rewarded with the equaliser in the 82nd minute when Paartalu nodded in Cleiton's in-swinging corner.
Legendary Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia says all strikers need to develop "sixth sense to smell" the opportune time to strike if they are to score regularly. In a chat with AIFF TV, Bhutia, the first Indian footballer to have played 100 international matches, said strikers can be successful only when they can read goal-scoring situations well.
India left their scoring boots and luck behind while hosts United Arab Emirates found both after a subdued opener to record a 2-0 win in the AFC Asian Cup in Dubai on Thursday.
Fit-again striker Sunil Chhetri converted a penalty as the Indian football team wound up its Barcelona training tour on a winning note, beating Spanish third division side FC Santboia by a solitary goal in their fourth and final friendly game, High Performance Sports at the outskirts of Barcelona on Wednesday night.
India has a population of 1.3 billion but the nation's obsession with and success on the cricket pitch has left it a massive underachiever on the football field.
Having started the year in the 129th position, the Sunil Chhetri-led team end the year at 105th spot in the FIFA rankings
East Bengal and United SC squandered chances galore to settle for a goalless draw in their Round 12 encounter of the final leg of the ONGC I-League at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday.
P V Sindhu opens her campaign in the China Open women's singles against Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia, in Fuzhou, China, on Tuesday.
Two-time champions ATK made their Christmas celebrations special, pipping Bengaluru FC by a David Williams solitary strike to secure their first ever win over the defending champions in the Indian Super League, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Riding on a Sunil Chhetri hat-trick, India on Wednesday thrashed defending champions Tajikistan 4-1 in the final of AFC Challenge Cup football tournament and qualified for the Asian Cup after a hiatus of 24 years.
Tajikistan beat North Korea 1-0 to set up a final against hosts India in the AFC Challenge Cup.
The stadiums have been packed as teams play out interesting matches in the tournament that saw India kick off their campaign in style.
I-League leaders Bengaluru FC began their Federation Cup campaign in style with a 5-3 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in a thrilling match on Wednesday.
Churchill Brothers scored their maiden win of the season when they came back from behind to down 10-man Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the fifth round of the hero I-League match, in Vasco, on Friday.
Was any cricketer missing at the skipper's wedding reception in Mumbai?
Move over Baichung Bhutia. 23-year-old Sunil Chhetri is the new face of Indian soccer.
The national football players are providing the needy, in their respective localities, monetary aid and food items, besides setting up camps and spreading awareness about social distancing.
Bengaluru FC lifted their maiden Federation Cup football tournament title when they edged past 10-man Dempo FC 2-1 in the summit clash.
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