An acid test awaits the Indian football team as they host higher-ranked Oman in the second round opening match of the AFC qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The Indian National Football Team achieved its best-ever FIFA Ranking since February 1996 as they were ranked 96 in the July FIFA Rankings released on Thursday.
Coach Stephen Constantine said the players who are in the Afro-Asian Games squad will not be released for the Vietnam tournament.
India have been clubbed in Group A along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan for the 11-day tournament in Dhaka.
The Kolkata club said its players can join the India camp after their English physical trainer completes his stint with the team.
The Indian football team achieved its best-ever FIFA ranking in over two decades as it jumped to 101 in the latest list released on Thursday.
India are placed alongside Singapore, Oman and Japan for the Azian zone round.
Indian U-17 team's performance was more of hype than actual achievement on the field.
The Indian Football team have now broken all records having won eight games on the trot since the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Playoff Round 1 match against Laos on June 2, 2016.
The Indian football team was pooled with Iran, Oman, India, Turkmenistan and Guam at the draw for AFC nations in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
National football coach Stephen Constantine said his 'target' was to breach the 100 mark by the time his two-year contract expires.
India's junior teams will be pitted against Uzbekistan, Iran and Bangladesh in the tournament.
Sukhwinder Singh has been appointed India's soccer coach for the Doha Asian Games to be held in 2006.
They beat Northern Ireland's leading team County Antrium in the Premier division of the Milk Cup.
A 2-1 victory gave the India Under-18 team their first win in the in the Milk Cup qualifiers in Northern Ireland.
The Phagwara-born striker is among the probables for India's World Cup qualifier against Japan.
Skipper Baichung Bhutia's injury is the only worry for India on the eve of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifier.
Following a virtual meeting on June 16th, 2024, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced a change in leadership for the Senior Men's National Team.
Chief coach Stephen Constantine expressed confidence that the team would retain the LG Cup it won in 2002.
India dropped one rung to be placed 97th in the latest edition of the FIFA Rankings issued in Thursday.
The Indian football team broke a 12-year-old jinx of not winning a match away from home as they beat lower ranked Cambodia 3-2 in an international friendly in Phnom Penh.
India jumped six places to 141 in the latest world football rankings issued by the game's governing body, FIFA, on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Indian national team footballers, on Friday, expressed solidarity with the victims of the unprecedented flood in Kerala.
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.
But how much has the national team actually improved?
India football captain Subrata Paul is among retired stars Climax Lawrence and Mahesh Gawli to have been recommended by the All India Football Federation for the prestigious Arjuna Awards.
The All India Football Federation believes that the FIFA U-17 World Cup, beginning October 6, can be a catalyst for the sport.
'The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves, the better it is for Indian football'
Stephen Constantine said he has accepted the contract extension offered to him by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which will make him the longest serving national coach in the history of the sport.
Not focussing on grassroot development over the years has led to the players learning the basics only late in their career, says national coach Stephen Constantine.
India FA eye origin players for short-term solution
Former India and Mohun Bagan footballer Manitombi Singh died aged only 39 at his native village near Imphal in Manipur on Sunday. Manitombi was suffering from a prolonged illness and breathed his last in the early hours of Sunday.
India lose to Bahrain 0-1, crash out of AFC Asian Cup.
'We are a team who hate to lose, and we have proven it in recent times. We are working as per the plan'
The long road to Russia 2018 kicks off in the outposts of Asia on Thursday with the world's worst international team, Bhutan, making their World Cup qualifying debut and eyeing a first win of any sorts since 2008.
Indian football team's downward spiral in the FIFA rankings continued as it slipped five places to 172nd in the latest chart, on Thursday.
This is India's best-ever FIFA Ranking since April 1996 when India were also ranked 100.
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