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India national football team

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India
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Blue Tigers
AssociationAll India Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachStephen Constantine
CaptainSunil Chhetri
Most capsBaichung Bhutia (107)
Top scorerSunil Chhetri (45)
Home stadiumSalt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi
FIFA codeIND
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current171 Steady (January 2015)
Highest94 (February 1996)
Lowest171 (December 2014)
First international
Unofficial:
 Australia 5–3 India British Raj
(Sydney, Australia; 3 September 1938)
Official:
 India 1–2 France 
(London, England; July 31, 1948)[1]
Biggest win
 India 7–0 Ceylon 
(Bangalore, India; 29 December 1963)
Biggest defeat
 Soviet Union 11–1 India India
(Moscow, USSR; 16 September 1955)
Asian Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1964)
Best resultRunners-up: 1964

The India national football team is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, the AIFF became one of the founding 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 the Olympics over the FIFA World Cup.[2] They won gold medals at two Asian Games and one silver at the Asian Cup.

History

Main article: History of the India national football team

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 the Olympics over the FIFA World Cup.[2]

The period from 1951 to 1962 is considered the golden era in Indian football. Under the tutelage of legendary Syed Abdul Rahim[3] India became the best team in Asia. India's football team started the 1950s with their triumph in the 1951 Asian Games which they hosted[4] 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.[5] After the result the AIFF immediately made it mandatory to wear boots.[6] India then went on to finish second in the 1954 Asian Games held in Manila.[7] 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 hat trick 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.[8]

Then in 1962 India went on to win the 1962 Asian Games where they beat South Korea 2–1 in the final.[9]

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.[10]

After the Asian Cup India football went downhill. Failure in many Asian Cup qualification tournaments meant that the next time India reached a quarter-final stage was as host in the 1982 Asian Games.[11] Then all of a sudden India managed to qualify for the 1984 AFC Asian Cup after twenty years out of the Asian Cup tournament.[12] But India during the competition failed to make any impact.[13] 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.[14]

As a result, India football has steadily earned greater recognition and respect, both within the country and abroad. India's LG Cup win in Vietnam under Stephen Constantine was one of the few bright spots in the early part of the 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.[14]

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.[15]

In 2011, India started off their campaign by participating in 2011 AFC Asian Cup for which they qualified after 27 years. India lost all three matches but did manage to perform well in patches.[16]

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.[17]

Home Stadium

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi
Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata

The Indian football team does not have a permanent home 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's traditional football jersey colour is blue. The team is known to have used blue shirts with white stripes in the past, as well as a more recent design with light blue and dark blue stripes, both of which are illustrated below.

Asia Cup (2007) Panasonic/Nike (2010-2012) ONGC/Nike (2013–)
Away
Home
Away
Goalkeeper
Home
Away

As of 2014, Nike is the official kit provider to the Indian national football team. In August 2013, they launched new kits with the help of team captain and striker Sunil Chhetri, and midfielder Lenny Rodrigues.[18]

Team Sponsor Period
Japan Panasonic 2010–2012
India ONGC 2013–

In 2010, Panasonic signed a deal to sponsor the Indian team's football jersey.[19] However, in December 2012, they decided not to renew their contract.[20] The team went without any sponsor for more than 7 months in 2013, until the All India Football Federation (AIFF) signed a sponsorship deal with the Indian multinational oil and gas company ONGC.[21]

Officials

Stephen Constantine - Head Coach
Name Position
England Stephen Constantine Head Coach
India Savio Medeira Assistant Coach
India G S Srinivas Murthy Team Manager
Scotland Tofu McLaughlin Coaching Family Liaison Officer
India Antonio Marcus Pacheco Goalkeeping Coach
India Sandeep Kumar Physiotherapist
India Liaqat Ali Masseur
India Pradip Dutta Physical Trainer
India Nilanjan Dutta Media Manager
India Shankar Sigamani Video Analyst
India Sanjay Dhyani Kit Manager
England Colin Toal U-19 Coach
India Gautam Ghosh U-16 Coach

Squad

Current squad

The following 20 players were named for the friendly match against Palestine national football team on 6 October 2014 in Siliguri, West Bengal.[22]
Caps and goals have been updated as of 5 March 2014.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Subrata Pal (1986-11-24) November 24, 1986 (age 37) 60 0 India Salgaocar
16 1GK Karanjit Singh (1986-01-08) January 8, 1986 (age 38) 20 0 India Salgaocar
35 2DF Aiborlang Khongjee (1987-12-09) December 9, 1987 (age 36) 3 0 India Shillong Lajong
2 2DF Denzil Franco (1986-06-06) June 6, 1986 (age 38) 24 1 India Atletico de Kolkata
5 2DF Arnab Mondal (1989-09-25) September 25, 1989 (age 35) 11 1 India East Bengal
13 2DF Sandesh Jhingan (1993-07-21) July 21, 1993 (age 31) 0 0 India Kerala Blasters FC
42 2DF Narayan Das (1993-09-25) September 25, 1993 (age 31) 3 0 India Dempo
2DF Pritam Kotal (1993-08-09) August 9, 1993 (age 31) 0 0 India Mohun Bagan
2DF Raju Gaikwad (1990-09-25) September 25, 1990 (age 34) 17 0 India East Bengal
15 3MF Clifford Miranda (1982-06-11) June 11, 1982 (age 42) 50 6 India Dempo
7 3MF Mehtab Hossain (1985-09-05) September 5, 1985 (age 39) 34 2 India East Bengal
8 3MF Francis Fernandes (1985-11-25) November 25, 1985 (age 38) 25 0 India Dempo
6 3MF Lenny Rodrigues (1987-05-10) May 10, 1987 (age 37) 20 0 India Dempo
3MF Lalkamal Bhowmick (1987-01-02) January 2, 1987 (age 37) 1 0 India Mohun Bagan
3MF Arata Izumi (1982-07-31) July 31, 1982 (age 42) 8 0 India Pune FC
17 4FW Balwant Singh (1986-12-15) December 15, 1986 (age 37) 1 0 India Mohun Bagan
14 4FW Victorino Fernandes (1989-02-03) February 3, 1989 (age 35) 2 0 India Sporting Goa
23 4FW Robin Singh (1990-05-09) May 9, 1990 (age 34) 15 1 India Bengaluru FC
11 4FW Sunil Chhetri (1984-08-03) August 3, 1984 (age 40) 74 43 India Bengaluru FC

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (1985-09-27) September 27, 1985 (age 39) 8 0 India East Bengal v.    Nepal, November 19, 2013
GK Arindam Bhattacharya (1988-03-25) March 25, 1988 (age 36) 5 0 India Bharat FC v.    Nepal, November 19, 2013
GK Shilton Paul (1988-06-10) June 10, 1988 (age 36) 0 0 India Mohun Bagan v.    Nepal, November 19, 2013
GK Sandip Nandy (1975-01-15) January 15, 1975 (age 49) 4 0 India Sporting Goa v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013
DF Gouramangi Singh (1986-08-25) August 25, 1986 (age 38) 71 6 India Bharat FC v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013
MF Syed Rahim Nabi (1985-12-14) December 14, 1985 (age 38) 61 8 India Mohammedan v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013
DF Nirmal Chettri (1990-10-21) October 21, 1990 (age 34) 10 0 India Dempo v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013
DF Nallappan Mohanraj (1989-02-23) February 23, 1989 (age 35) 4 0 India Sporting Goa v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013
MF Shylo Malsawmtluanga (1984-10-24) October 24, 1984 (age 40) 3 0 India East Bengal v.    Nepal, November 19, 2013
MF Jewel Raja Shaikh (1990-01-19) January 19, 1990 (age 34) 24 4 India Dempo v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013
FW Jeje Lalpekhlua (1991-01-07) January 7, 1991 (age 33) 22 8 India Mohun Bagan v.    Nepal, November 19, 2013
FW Dawson Fernandes (1990-07-27) July 27, 1990 (age 34) 3 0 India Salgaocar v.  Afghanistan, September 11, 2013

Previous squads

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

For Further Information :- India national football team results

  Win   Draw   Loss

The following is a list of matches from the past year, as well as any future matches that have been officially scheduled this year.

2014

Date Venue Opponent Competition Result Indian Scorers
6 February 2013 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, India  Palestine International Friendly 2-4 Clifford Miranda 17', Syed Rahim Nabi 39'
2 March 2013 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar  Chinese Taipei 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers 2-1 Jewel Raja Shaikh 40', Robin Singh 88'
4 March 2013 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar  Guam 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers 4-0 Sunil Chhetri 49', 90+1', Miranda 68', Shaikh 79'
6 March 2013 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar  Myanmar 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers 0-1
14 August 2013 20-Letie Nezavisimosti Stadium, Khujand, Tajikistan  Tajikistan International Friendly 0-3
1 September 2013 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Pakistan 2013 SAFF Championship 1-0 Samar Ishaq (o.g.)
3 September 2013 Halchowk Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Bangladesh 2013 SAFF Championship 1-1 Sunil Chhetri 90+3'
5 September 2013 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal    Nepal 2013 SAFF Championship 1-2 Syed Rahim Nabi 90+2'
9 September 2013 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Maldives 2013 SAFF Championship 1-0 Arnab Mondal 86'
11 September 2013 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Afghanistan 2013 SAFF Championship 0-2
15 November 2013 Kanchenjunga Stadium, Siliguri, India  Philippines International Friendly 1-1 Sunil Chhetri 41'
19 November 2013 Kanchenjunga Stadium, Siliguri, India    Nepal International Friendly 2-0 Sunil Chhetri 21', Clifford Miranda 48'
5 March 2014 Fatorda Stadium, Goa, India  Bangladesh International Friendly 2-2 Sunil Chhetri 14', 90+2'
6 October 2014 Kanchenjunga Stadium, Siliguri, India  Palestine International Friendly 2-3 Sunil Chhetri 37', Francis Fernandes 45'
12 March 2015 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
17 March 2015 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: India at the FIFA World Cup

India qualified only once for the World Cup, 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 AIFF decided against going to the World Cup.

AFC Asian Cup

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