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| FIFA max date = February 1996
| FIFA max date = February 1996
| FIFA min = 169
| FIFA min = 169
| FIFA min date = September 2012-
| FIFA min date = September 2012, November 2012
| Elo Rank = 158<ref>http://www.eloratings.net/</ref>
| Elo Rank = 158<ref>http://www.eloratings.net/</ref>
| Elo max = 48
| Elo max = 48

Revision as of 12:43, 8 November 2012

India
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Blue Tigers
AssociationAll India Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachWim Koevermans
CaptainSunil Chhetri
FIFA codeIND
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current169
Highest94 (February 1996)
Lowest169 (September 2012, November 2012)
First international
Unofficial:
 Australia 5–3 India British Raj
(Sydney, Australia; 3 September 1938)
Official:
India India 1–2 France 
(London, England; July 31, 1948)[1]
Biggest win
 Australia 1–7 India India
(Sydney, Australia; 12 December 1956)
India India 6–0 Cambodia 
(New Delhi, India; August 17, 2007)
Biggest defeat
 Soviet Union 11–1 India India
(Moscow, USSR; 16 September 1955)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 1950)
Best resultQualified
Asian Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1964)
Best resultRunners-up: 1964

The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). At the peak of its success during the 1950s and 1960s, the team was automatically advanced to play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup (all the other Asian teams withdrew), but they did not go to the tournament in Brazil due to the cost of travel, lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing Olympics over FIFA World cup.[3] They won gold medals at two Asian Games,one silver at the Asian Cup and held the record for the best performance by an Asian football team at the Olympics.

History

Indian teams started touring Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand in late 1930s. Soon after the success of several Indian football clubs, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was formed in 1937. The 1948 London Olympics was India's first major international tournament, where a predominately barefooted Indian team lost 2–1 to France, failing to convert two penalties. The Indian team was greeted and appreciated by the crowd for their sporting manner.[4]

India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup finals as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But the governing body, the AIFF, decided against going to the World Cup, being unable to understand the importance of the event at that time. Reason shown by AIFF was that there was the cost of travel (although FIFA agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses), lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing Olympics over FIFA World cup.[3]

The period from 1951 to 1962 is considered the golden era in Indian football. Under the tutelage of legendary Syed Abdul Rahim[5] India became the best team in Asia. The Indian team started the 1950s with their triumph in the 1951 Asian Games which they hosted[6] Later next year they went on to participate in the 1952 Olympics, but lost 10–1 to Yugoslavia. Like before four years earlier, many of the team played without boots.[7] After the result the AIFF immediately made it mandatory to wear boots.[8] India then went on to finish second in the 1954 Asian Games held in Manila.[9] At the 1956 Olympic Games they finished fourth, which is regarded as one of finest achievements in Indian football. India first met hosts Australia, winning 4–2 with Neville D'Souza becoming the first Asian to score a hatrick in the Olympics and also making India the first Asian team to reach the Olympic semi-finals. They lost 4–1 to Yugoslavia, and lost the third place play-off match 3–0 to Bulgaria.[10]

Then in 1962 India went on to win the 1962 Asian Games where they beat South Korea 2–1 in the final.[11]

Then in 1964 India played in its most memorable tournament yet. The 1964 AFC Asian Cup where they finished as runners-up thanks to then-current manager Harry Wright. India won their first match against South Korea 2–0, then lost 2–0 to the hosts Israel then won 3–1 against Hong Kong which gave India second in the tournament.[12]

After the Asian Cup India went downhill. Failure in a many qualification tournaments meant that the next time India reached a quarter-final stage was as host in the 1982 Asian Games.[13] Then all of a sudden India managed to qualify for the 1984 AFC Asian Cup after twenty years out of the cup.[14] But India during the competition failed to make any impact.[15] India would then fail to make the Asian Cup for another 27 years.

Although India failed to qualify for the 2004 Asian Cup, the senior team did well by showing off a silver-medal winning performance in the inaugural Afro Asian Games, with victories over Rwanda and Zimbabwe (then 85 places ahead of India in the world rankings) along the way, losing the final by just 1–0 to Uzbekistan.[16]

As a result, Indian football has steadily earned greater recognition and respect, both within the country and abroad. The LG Cup win in Vietnam under Stephen Constantine was one of the few bright spots in early part of 2000s. It was India's first victory in a football tournament outside the subcontinent after 1974. In November 2003, then India coach Stephen Constantine was named AFC Manager of the Month.[16]

In 2006 Bob Houghton was later appointed coach of team. His appointment saw a general progress in India’s performances crowned by victory in 2007 Nehru Cup in August 2007. Houghton then led India to the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup title as they beat Tajikistan 4–1 in August 2008. Winning the AFC Challenge Cup qualified India for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1984. He also oversaw the Indian team to its second consecutive Nehru Cup trophy by winning 2009 Nehru Cup.[17]

In 2011, India started off their campaign by participating in 2011 AFC Asian Cup for which they qualified after 24 years. India lost all three matches but did manage to perform well in patches.[18]

In 2012, India won the 15th edition of Nehru cup by beating Cameroon 5-4 in penalties as the full time score was tied at 2-2, making it the third successive Nehru cup win for India. [19]


Home stadium

Nehru Stadium in Delhi

The Indian Football Team does not have a permanent stadium as of 2011 due to so many football stadiums not meeting FIFA guidelines. The only stadiums that are FIFA and AFC approved are the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium also in New Delhi, Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, and most recently approved after a renovation the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and Bangalore Football Stadium in Bangalore.

Kit

India traditionally wear a blue strip. As of 2010, Nike, Inc is the kit provider to the Indian National Football team, with Panasonic as sponsoring partner.

Team officials and coaching staff

Team Management Table
Name Position
Netherlands Wim Koevermans Manager
India Savio Medeira Assistant Manager
India Marcus Pacheco Goalkeeping Coach
India Srinivas General Manager
vacant Physio
vacant Physical Trainer

Squad

Current squad

The following 20 players were called up to the squad for an International friendly against Yemen on 14 November 2012 at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Guwahati.[20] Caps and goals updated as of 16 October 2012.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Subrata Pal (1986-11-24) November 24, 1986 (age 37) 46 0 India Prayag United
1GK Karanjit Singh (1986-01-08) January 8, 1986 (age 38) 12 0 India Salgaocar
1GK Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (1985-09-27) September 27, 1985 (age 39) 4 0 India Dempo
2DF Gouramangi Singh (1986-01-25) January 25, 1986 (age 38) 59 5 India Prayag United
2DF Syed Rahim Nabi (1985-12-14) December 14, 1985 (age 38) 50 5 India Mohun Bagan
2DF Shouvik Ghosh (1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 32) 0 0 India Pailan Arrows
2DF Nirmal Chettri (1990-10-21) October 21, 1990 (age 34) 7 0 India Mohun Bagan
2DF Denzil Franco (1986-06-30) June 30, 1986 (age 38) 4 0 India Churchill Brothers
2DF Gurwinder Singh (1986-07-16) July 16, 1986 (age 38) 1 0 India East Bengal
3MF Clifford Miranda (1982-07-11) July 11, 1982 (age 42) 33 8 India Dempo
3MF Anthony Pereira (1982-04-09) April 9, 1982 (age 42) 27 3 India Dempo
3MF Jewel Raja Shaikh (1990-01-19) January 19, 1990 (age 34) 18 1 India Mohun Bagan
3MF Mehtab Hossain (1985-09-05) September 5, 1985 (age 39) 15 2 India East Bengal
3MF Francis Fernandes (1985-11-25) November 25, 1985 (age 38) 10 0 India Salgaocar
3MF Lenny Rodrigues (1987-05-10) May 10, 1987 (age 37) 6 0 India Churchill Brothers
3MF Sanju Pradhan (1989-08-15) August 15, 1989 (age 35) 2 0 India East Bengal
3MF Alwyn George (1992-03-01) March 1, 1992 (age 32) 0 0 India Pailan Arrows
4FW Sunil Chhetri (c) (1984-08-03) August 3, 1984 (age 40) 61 36 Portugal Sporting B
4FW Manandeep Singh (1992-11-03) November 3, 1992 (age 32) 2 0 India East Bengal
4FW Robin Singh (1990-05-09) May 9, 1990 (age 34) 2 0 India East Bengal

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the India squad within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Arindam Bhattacharya (1988-03-25) 25 March 1988 (age 36) 5 0 India Mohun Bagan 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
GK Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 (age 32) 0 0 India East Bengal 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
DF Nallappan Mohanraj (1989-02-23) 23 February 1989 (age 35) 1 0 India Pune 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
DF Khelemba Singh (1985-04-13) 13 April 1985 (age 39) 0 0 India Mohun Bagan 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
DF Gurjinder Kumar (1990-10-10) 10 October 1990 (age 34) 2 0 India Pune 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
DF Rowilson Rodrigues (1987-03-26) 26 March 1987 (age 37) 1 0 India Dempo 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
DF Nicholas Colaco (1984-05-16) 16 May 1984 (age 40) 0 0 India Salgaocar 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
DF Shouvik Ghosh (1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 32) 0 0 India Pailan Arrows 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
DF Kingshuk Debnath (1985-05-07) 7 May 1985 (age 39) 0 0 India Mohun Bagan v North Korea North Korea, 13 March 2012
DF Anwar Ali (1984-09-24) 24 September 1984 (age 40) 31 0 India Mohun Bagan v North Korea North Korea, 13 March 2012
DF Arnab Mondal (1989-09-25) 25 September 1989 (age 35) 0 0 India Prayag United v Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, 27 February 2012
DF Jaspal Singh (1984-08-06) 6 August 1984 (age 40) 1 0 India Salgaocar v Zambia Zambia, 29 November 2011
MF Baldeep Singh (1987-02-06) 6 February 1987 (age 37) 12 0 India Churchill Brothers 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
MF Rocus Lamare (1986-09-26) 26 September 1986 (age 38) 9 0 India Salgaocar 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
MF Milan Singh (1992-05-15) 15 May 1992 (age 32) 0 0 India Pailan Arrows 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
MF Gilbert Oliveira (1990-07-31) 31 July 1990 (age 34) 0 0 India Salgaocar 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
MF Lalrindika Ralte (1992-09-07) 7 September 1992 (age 32) 10 0 India Churchill Brothers 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
MF Adil Khan (1988-07-07) 7 July 1988 (age 36) 3 0 India Sporting Goa 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
MF Denson Devadas (1982-12-20) 20 December 1982 (age 41) 0 0 India Prayag United 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
MF Reisangmei Vashum (1988-01-10) 10 January 1988 (age 36) 2 0 India East Bengal v North Korea North Korea, 13 March 2012
MF Lester Fernandez (1986-12-06) 6 December 1986 (age 37) 2 0 India Prayag United v Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, 27 February 2012
MF Manish Mathani (1987-11-05) 5 November 1987 (age 37) 1 0 India Mohun Bagan v Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, 27 February 2012
MF Mehrajuddin Wadoo (1984-02-12) 12 February 1984 (age 40) 31 2 India Mohun Bagan v Zambia Zambia, 29 November 2011
MF Peter Carvalho (1980-12-18) 18 December 1980 (age 43) 3 0 India Dempo v Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, 22 August 2011
FW Jeje Lalpekhlua (1991-01-07) 7 January 1991 (age 33) 16 8 India Pune 2012 Nehru Cup Final Preparation Camp
FW Sushil Kumar Singh (1989-04-01) 1 April 1989 (age 35) 24 4 India Shillong Lajong 2012 Nehru Cup Preparation Camp
FW Chinadorai Sabeeth (1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 33) 1 0 India Mohun Bagan v North Korea North Korea, 13 March 2012
FW Manandeep Singh (1992-11-03) November 3, 1992 (age 32) 2 0 India East Bengal 2012 Nehru Cup

Previous squads

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

For Further Information :- India national football team results

Date Venue Home Team Result Away Team Competition
23 February 2012 Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Oman  5–1  India Friendly
27 February 2012 The Sevens Stadium Azerbaijan  3–0  India Friendly
9 March 2012 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium Tajikistan  2–0  India 2012 AFC Challenge Cup
11 March 2012 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium Philippines  2–0  India 2012 AFC Challenge Cup
13 March 2012 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium North Korea  4–0  India 2012 AFC Challenge Cup
22 August 2012 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium India  2–1  Syria 2012 Nehru Cup
25 August 2012 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium India  3–0  Maldives 2012 Nehru Cup
28 August 2012 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium India  0–0    Nepal 2012 Nehru Cup
31 August 2012 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium India  0–1  Cameroon 2012 Nehru Cup
2 September 2012 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium India  2–2 (PEN 5–4)  Cameroon 2012 Nehru Cup Final
16 October 2012 Choa Chu Kang Stadium Singapore  2-0  India Friendly
14 November 2012 Guwahati India   Yemen Friendly

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Qualified but withdrew None
Switzerland 1954 Denied by FIFA None
Sweden 1958 Did not enter Did not enter
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986 Did not qualify 6 2 3 1 7 6
Italy 1990 withdrew from qualification
United States 1994 8 1 1 6 8 22
France 1998 3 1 1 1 3 7
South Korea Japan 2002 6 3 2 1 11 5
Germany 2006 6 1 1 4 2 18
South Africa 2010 2 0 1 1 3 6
Brazil 2014 2 0 1 1 2 5
Total 0/19 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 8 10 15 36 69

AFC Asian Cup