June 2016: India’s FIFA world ranking was 163.

June 2017: India’s FIFA world ranking is 100.

The India football team has been on a phenomenal run in the past one year. The ‘Bue Tigers’ are currently on an eight-match winning run with their latest win coming against Kyrgyzstan at Bengaluru on Tuesday in their Asia Cup qualifier. Skipper Sunil Chhetri’s extraordinary goal in the 69th minute helped them to a tightly contested 1-0 win.

India, brimming with confidence, are favourites to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in UAE given that they are on top of their group.


However, before their amazing run began, they were knocked out of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. India lost five and won just one match in the qualifiers. The defeats came against Oman, Iran and Guam. They beat Guam 1-0 in the second leg.

Coach Stephen Constantine knew that the team had the caliber to better their performance. However, getting the boys to embed a winning mentality was proving to be a hinderance. He, then, set them the target of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and they began their bidding against Laos, who are ranked 172nd in the world, on June 2. They beat them 0-1 at Vientiane. However, it wasn’t an authoritative win. Four days later, in Guwahati, India smashed Laos 6-1 to progress to the group stage.

Now came the crucial stage of qualification as India was drawn with Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Macau. The All India Football Federation setup three friendlies before their opening clash against Myanmar. They played Bhutan and thrashed them 3-0 in August. Then they beat Puerto Rico 4-1, a team ranked 133rd in the world. India then went on to beat Cambodia 3-2, a team ranked 174. The friendlies proved fruitful as India beat Myanmar 1-0, who are ranked 163rd in their Asian Cup qualification opener.

India was going to face Kyrgyzstan next, their toughest opponent in the group. Hence, India were set to face Lebanon in another friendly. However, due to visa problems Lebanon backed out and was replaced by Nepal, who are ranked 169th. India beat them 2-0.

India beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0 and registered their eighth victory on the trot. They have been undefeated since June 2, 2016. India is set to play 15 international games from March 2017 to March 2018. In India’s amazing run, India has kept 5 clean sheets and have conceded just four goals. They have smashed 21 goals.

However, all the wins have come against teams ranked lower than India. In a sense, they were expected to win. Coach Constantine is proud of his team’s splendid run but how will India fare against the big guns of Asian football?

“At any level, amateur, La Liga, Premier League, Championship, 13 out of 15 is unbelievable,” said Constantine after the win.

Captain Sunil Chhetri has been the backbone of the team scoring four goals. He has also chipped in with three assists in seven games. And while wins are always welcome, these numbers indicate India can’t afford to rest on the their laurels... things are only going to get tougher from here on.