Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday warned his players against complacency if they have to defend the AFC Challenge Cup which begins in Kathmandu on March 8.
'The CoA (which is running the show in AIFF after the suspension of president Praful Patel) must go deep into this appalling incident and find out who all are responsible behind it. There are many scams waiting to see the light of the day.'
It will take FC Goa nothing short of a miracle to pull off a win against the Omanis, and a victory will be a the perfect Independence Day present for Indian football fans.
A 22-member India Under-23 football squad left the country on Sunday to defend their title in the AFC Challenge Cup to be held in Colombo from February 16-27.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it welcomed consultations world governing body FIFA's plan to conduct a feasibility study into staging the World Cup every two years instead of every four.
Sunil Chhetri said he would like to be remembered as 'the luckiest and most hardworking national team player'.
'Every game is important, every win is important, especially clean sheets, so I am very happy. But I can tell you that I was not at all happy at half time. We played well in the first 10 minutes, and then we disappeared.'
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.
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The national football team is currently ranked 18th in Asia and the sports ministry's rule states that in team sport, only those in top-eight will get the nod.
Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after soccer's global governing body called for Asia and Oceania bids on October 4.
Emirati Ahmed Khalil got a modicum of revenge on Guangzhou Evergrande captain Zheng Zhi when he pipped the Chinese to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Player of the Year award on Sunday.
The All India Football Federation is exploring the possibility of selecting Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) for the Indian football team.
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'...there's a feeling of being indebted to the sport, to my team, that I get to do this.'
Former captain Bhaichung Bhutia demanded the resignation of All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey.
Chhetri also added that India will rely more on teamwork than individual flair to give a tough fight to their rivals.
Iraq want their World Cup qualifier against Palestine next month moved from the Jordanian capital of Amman, having also knocked back a Palestinian proposal to stage the match just outside Jerusalem.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
AIFF seeks investigation into Qatar's controversial goal against India
India finished at the bottom of Group G, having earlier lost to China 1-2.
The Indian national football team suffered a humiliating 1-9 defeat at the hands of Kuwait in an international friendly match played as part of preparations for next next year's Asian Cup, in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Chennai City FC, the 2018-19 I-League champions, will play their remaining AFC Cup group stage matches in Maldives with the island nation being given the hosting rights following the continental body's decision to organise the games in a single venue. The Asian Football Confederation's decision, prompted by the rising COVID-19 case count in many countries, was announced by Maldives Sports Minister Ahmed Mahloof.
India coach Igor Stimac wants his players to stay compact and not concede set pieces to Australia
This will be the first time since the 1994 Hiroshima edition that an Indian team will not take part in the football competition of the Asian Games.
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Axed coach Syed Nayeemuddin alleged that India's captain and the rest of the team did not give 100 per cent in the Asian Cup.
Chhetri expressed his desire to play the Asian Cup on home soil
This is India's best-ever FIFA Ranking since April 1996 when India were also ranked 100.
The Indian football team will play against China for the first time in 21 years, and the first time away from home, in an international friendly in October, continuing its preparation for the prestigious Asian Cup next year.
Holders Iraq and secretive North Korea could face sanctions from the AFC for failing to send a player to their media conferences on Monday ahead of their opening Asian Cup matches.
Preparing for the AFC Asian Cup, two of India's top women's team footballers are taking inspiration from their counterparts in hockey, who claimed a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Earlier this month, India had held Asian champions Qatar to a goalless draw in Doha to gain their first point in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.
New Zealand football coach Fritz Schmid, on Tuesday, dubbed India lying somewhere between 'a sleeping giant and a rising competitor'.
Dronacharya awardee coach Syed Nayeemuddin led a bunch of former football stars in lashing out against just-retired Bhaichung Bhutia, accusing him of conspiracy during the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in 2006.
National team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the first Indian player to be signed by an Indian club from an European club in a move involving a transfer fee.
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