India national football team
The India national football team represents India in men's international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation.
The team, which is considered as the best team in South Asia, won two gold medals at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games while finishing fourth at the 1956 Summer Olympics. India has never participated in the FIFA World Cup, although they did qualify by default for the 1950 World Cup after all other nations in their qualification group withdrew. However, India withdrew prior to the beginning of the tournament. The team has also appeared four times in the AFC Asian Cup, Asia's top football championship and finished as runners-up in 1964. India also participates in the SAFF Championship, the top regional football competition in South Asia. They have won the tournament record eight times since its inception in 1993.
In the 21st century, besides the SAFF Championship triumphs, India won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 editions. India also won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, by which the team qualified for the Asian Cup after 27 years' gap.
History
Early years (1930s–1940s)
The first known official international tour of the Indian team, which at that time consisted of both Indian and British players, was in 1924 when it was led by Indian footballer Gostha Pal.[5]
Football teams consisting of entirely Indian players started to tour Australia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand during the late 1930s. The first international match India played before independence is yet to be verified, but they are known to have played Ceylon in 1933, winning 1–0.[5][6][7]
In the year 1937, India carried out a lengthy tour of Australia at the request of the Australian Football Association. From August to October, they played 17 matches against various state, district, and club teams, and 5 friendly matches against the Australian national team.[8] The first of these, on 3 September in Sydney, is India's first international game to be recognised by FIFA, and ended in a 5–3 defeat.[8] After drawing the second match in Brisbane 4–4, India won the third match at Newcastle 4–1 to claim their first international win.[9]
The national team played their first match as an independent nation in the first round of the 1948 Summer Olympics against France, in a 2–1 defeat. Famously, the Indian team did not wear boots, playing either barefoot or in socks, something that would be banned by FIFA later in the year.[10][11][a]
Golden years (1950s–1960s)
In 1950, India managed to qualify for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in Brazil, after all the other teams in their qualifying group withdrew. However, India themselves withdrew from the tournament shortly before it began; officially, this was due to travel costs, but FIFA had offered to pay the team's travel expenses, and the real reason behind their withdrawal has been widely speculated in the decades since.[12][13][14][15] While it was commonly believed that India withdrew due to FIFA's ban on playing barefoot, the team's captain at that time, Sailen Manna, insisted that this was not the case; it is now generally accepted that India withdrew simply because they valued the Olympics more than the World Cup and did not view the latter is being prestigious enough to justify taking part.[11][16] Since then, India have yet to qualify for another World Cup.[17]
Despite not participating in the World Cup in 1950 and opting not to even play the Asian zone qualifiers until 1985, the following years until 1964 are usually considered to be the "golden era" of the Indian football.[18] India, coached by Hyderabad City Police head coach Syed Abdul Rahim,[19][20] became one of the best teams in Asia.[21][22] In March 1951, Rahim led India to their first ever triumph during the 1951 Asian Games, hosted in India. The team defeated Iran 1–0 in the gold medal match to win their first trophy.[23][24] Sahu Mewalal scored the winning goal for India in that match.[23] The following year, India competed in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, but were unused to the cold conditions[10] and lost 10–1 to Yugoslavia.[25] Following this defeat, the AIFF made it mandatory for footballers to wear boots.[10] After taking the defeat in Helsinki Finland, India participated in various minor tournaments, such as the Colombo Cup, which they won four times from 1952 to 1955.[26]
In 1954, India returned to the Asian Games as defending champions in Manila. Despite their achievement three years prior, India was unable to go past the group stage as the team finished second in Group C during the tournament, two points behind Indonesia.[27] Two years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics, India went on to achieve the team's greatest result in a competitive tournament. The team finished in fourth place during the Summer Olympics football tournament, losing the bronze-medal match to Bulgaria 3–0. The tournament is also known for Neville D'Souza's hat-trick against Australia in the quarterfinals. D'Souza's hat-trick was the first scored by an Asian in Olympic history.[28] India defeated Australia by 4–2 in that match at the Olympic Park Stadium.[28]
After their good performance during the Summer Olympics, India participated in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo. The team once again finished fourth, losing the bronze-medal match to Indonesia 4–1.[29] The next year the team travelled to Malaysia where they took part in the 1959 Merdeka tournament and finished as the tournament runners-up.[30]
India began the 1960s with the 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Despite the qualifiers for the West Zone being held in Kochi, India finished last in their qualification group and thus missed out the tournament.[31] Despite the set-back, India went on to win the gold medal during the Asian Games for the second time in 1962. The team defeated South Korea 2–1 to win their second major championship.[32]
Two years later, following their Asian Games triumph, India participated in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup after all the other teams in their qualification group withdrew. Despite their automatic entry into the continental tournament, India team managed to finish as the runners-up during the tournament, losing out to the hosts, Israel, by two points. This remains India's best performance in the AFC Asian Cup.[33]
Decline (1970s–2000)
India returned to the Asian Games in 1966. Despite their performance two years prior during the AFC Asian Cup, India could not go beyond the group stage as the team finished third, behind Japan and Iran.[34] Four years later, during the 1970 Asian Games, India came back and took third place during the tournament. The team defeated Japan 1–0 during the bronze-medal match.[35]
In 1974, India's performance in the Asian Games once again sharply declined as they finished the 1974 edition in last place in their group, losing all three matches, scoring two, and conceding 14 goals in the first round.[36] India then showed steady improvement during the 1978 tournament, finishing second in their group of three. The team were then knocked-out in the next round, finishing last in their group with three defeats from three matches.[37] The 1982 tournament proved to be better for India as the side managed to qualify for the quarter-finals before losing to Saudi Arabia 1–0.[38]
In 1984, India managed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since their second place triumph in 1964. During the 1984 tournament, India finished in last place in their five team group in the first round.[39] India's only non-defeat during the tournament came against Iran, a 0–0 draw.[39]
Despite India's decline from a major football power in Asia, the team still managed to assert its dominance as the top team in South Asia. India managed to win the football competition of the South Asian Games in 1985 and then again won the gold medal in 1987.[40] The team then began the 1990s by winning the inaugural SAFF Championship in 1993 and silver medal at the 1993 South Asian Games. In February 1996, India achieved its highest FIFA ranking of 94, under Bhaichung Bhutia's captaincy.[41][42] The team ended the 20th century by winning the SAFF Championship again in 1997 and 1999.[42]
Resurgence (2001–2011)
India's first competitive matches of the 21st century were the 2002 FIFA World Cup first round qualifiers. India took a very bright start, defeating the United Arab Emirates 1–0, drawing Yemen 1–1, as well as two victories over Brunei, including a 5–0 victory in Bangalore. However, they finished a point away from qualification for the next round.[43] In 2003, India took part in the 2003 SAFF Championship. The team qualified for the semi-finals but fell to Bangladesh 2–1.[44]
Later in 2003, India participated in the Afro-Asian Games being held in Hyderabad. Under the coaching of Stephen Constantine, India managed to make it to the final of the tournament after defeating Zimbabwe, a team ranked 85 places above India in the FIFA rankings at the time, 5–3.[45] Despite the major victory, during the gold-medal match India were defeated 1–0 by Uzbekistan.[46] Because of this achievement, Constantine was voted as the Asian Football Confederation's Manager of the Month for October 2003. The tournament result also gave India more recognition around the country and around the world.[45]
Constantine was replaced by Syed Nayeemuddin in 2005 but the Indian head coach only lasted for a little over a year as India suffered many heavy defeats during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.[47] During this time India were defeated 6–0 by Japan, 3–0 by Saudi Arabia and Yemen respectively at home, and 7–1 away in Jeddah.[48] Former Malmö and China coach Bob Houghton was brought in as head coach in May 2006.[49]
Under Houghton, India witnessed massive improvement in their football standing. In August 2007, Houghton won the country the restarted Nehru Cup after India defeated Syria 1–0 in the final.[50] Pappachen Pradeep scored the winning goal for India that match. The next year, Houghton led India during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which was hosted in Hyderabad and Delhi. During the tournament, India breezed through the group stage before defeating Myanmar in the semi-finals. In the final against Tajikistan, India, through a Sunil Chhetri hat-trick, won the match 4–1. The victory not only earned India the championship but it also allowed India to qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, the nation's first Asian Cup appearance in 27 years.[51] In order to prepare for the Asian Cup, Houghton had the team stay together as a squad for eight months from June 2010 until the start of the tournament, meaning the players would not play for their clubs.[52]
India were drawn into Group C for the Asian Cup with Australia, South Korea, and Bahrain.[53] Even though they stayed together as a team for eight months, India lost all three of their matches during the Asian Cup, including a 4–0 defeat to Australia.[54] Despite the results, India were praised by fans and pundits for their valiant efforts during the tournament.[54]
Recent history (2011–2018)
After participating the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, India's campaign to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup began in February 2011 with the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. Bob Houghton decided to change the makeup of the India squad, replacing many of the older players from the Asian Cup with some young players from the AIFF development side in the I-League, Indian Arrows.[55] Even with a young side, India managed to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup.[56] Despite qualifying for the AFC Challenge Cup, the AIFF decided to terminate the contract of Bob Houghton as he was charged with racial abuse towards referee[57][58] which ultimately resulted in his resignation as the head coach of India.[59][60]
After having Dempo coach Armando Colaco as interim head coach,[61] the AIFF signed Savio Medeira as head coach in October 2011.[62] Medeira led India to another SAFF Championship victory, but also to their worst performance in the AFC Challenge Cup in March 2012. The team lost all three of their group matches, unable to score a single goal during the tournament.[63] After the tournament, Medeira was replaced as head coach by Dutchman, Wim Koevermans.[64] Koevermans' first job as head coach was the 2012 Nehru Cup. India won their third successive Nehru Cup, defeating Cameroon on penalties.[65][66]
In March 2013, India failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup and thus also failed to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.[67] The team also failed to retain the SAFF Championship, losing 2–0 to Afghanistan in the 2013 final.[68] After more bad results in friendlies, Koevermans resigned as head coach in October 2014.[69]
By March 2015, after not playing any matches, India reached their lowest FIFA ranking position of 173.[70] A couple months prior, Stephen Constantine was re-hired as the head coach after first leading India more than a decade before.[71] Constantine's first major assignment back as the India head coach were the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. After making it through the first round of qualifiers, India crashed out during the second round, losing seven of their eight matches and thus, once again, failed to qualify for the World Cup.[72]
Despite failure to qualify for the World Cup, India managed to reach the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers after defeating Laos in the play-off round on aggregate 7–1.[73] On 11 October 2017, India secured qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after a 4–1 victory over Macau.[74] In 2017, India remained undefeated by drawing two and winning seven games, which helped the team to reach 96 in the FIFA ranking in May, which is its second highest FIFA rank ever.[41]
Though defeated at the 2018 SAFF Championship final 1–2 against Maldives in September 2018,[75] India regained the momentum with some friendlies against China, Jordan and Oman as they began the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a 4–1 victory against Thailand; this was their biggest ever win at the Asia Cup, and their first in 55 years.[76][77] Nevertheless, they lost both of their next two group matches against UAE and Bahrain 0−2 and 0−1 respectively[78][79] and finished at the bottom of the group, thus failed to move to knock out stage.[80] Stephen Constantine immediately resigned from his position as head coach following the failure to progress further in the tournament.[81]
Igor Stimac era (2019–present)
On 15 May 2019, the AIFF announced former Croatian player and coach Igor Štimac as the team's head coach after the departure of Stephen Constantine.[82] His first major assignment with India was 2022 World Cup qualification, where it began with a 1–2 home loss to Oman.[83] But in the second match they earned a respectable point after managing a goalless draw against the 2019 Asian Champion and 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar.[84][41] However, in the third match, the home leg against Bangladesh saw them managing a disappointing 1−1 draw.[85] A similar result was repeated in the away leg against Afghanistan.[86] In the away leg, India lost yet again to Oman by a solitary goal, thus shortening their hopes to qualify for the next round.[87] After several postponements due to COVID-19, the team finally flew to Doha to play their remainder of games. In the return leg against Qatar, India went down to the hosts with a single goal and got knocked out of the World Cup qualification tournament with two games to spare. The team then made a comeback by winning their next match against Bangladesh 2–0, and ended their campaign with a 1–1 draw against Afghanistan. With seven points in total, India finished third on the table behind Qatar and Oman, thus getting eliminated from the World Cup during the second round. However they were qualified into the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification.[88]
In the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification, India was drawn in the same group with Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Cambodia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, India was chosen as the host of the group of the qualifiers while the qualification was reduced into a single round robin format.[89] Using this home advantage, India was able to top the group with three wins against Cambodia (2–0), Afghanistan (2–1) and Hong Kong (4–0), therefore for the first time, India qualified for two consecutive AFC Asian Cups in history.[90] In September 2022, India participated for the first time in the VFF Cup where they played two friendly matches, a 1–1 draw against Singapore and a 3–0 defeat by Vietnam, ending their year .[91][92] In 2023, India began their campaign by winning the 2023 Tri-Nation Series and the 2023 Intercontinental Cup, both were organized by AIFF. India beat Myanmar 1–0 and Kyrgyzstan 2–0 in the Tri-Nation series, and defeated Lebanon 2–0 in the final of Intercontinental Cup to win the title for the second time.[93][94] Following the Tri-Nation Series and the Intercontinental Cup, India won the 2023 SAFF championship, their third title in the year 2023 at home soil.[95] India defeated Pakistan 4–0 and Nepal 2–0 and drawn 1–1 against Kuwait in the group stage.[96][97][98] After defeating Lebanon in penalty shoot-out in the semi–finals, India faced Kuwait again in the tournament for the final. The match was tied 1–1 till the added time and eventually India defeated Kuwait in the penalty shoot-out to lift the SAFF Cup for a record nine times. Sunil Chhetri was the highest goal scorer of the edition with 5 goals, including a hat-trick against Pakistan, his fourth for the national team. With this hat-trick, he scored 92 goals becoming the second-highest international goalscorer from Asia of all time. His tally of 92 put him as the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of international football.[99][100]
Heading to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup tournament, India was the only national team without any friendly match as preparation.[101] India ended up losing all matches in the group stage against Australia (0–2), Uzbekistan (0–3), and Syria (0–1), without scoring any goals as well.[102]
Team image
Nicknames
India is officially known by the nickname The Blue Tigers since 2013. It is inspired by the colour blue which forms the primary colour of the team's home kit, depicting Ashoka Chakra's colour in the national flag (similar to the Indian national teams of other sports) and the tiger which is the national animal of India.[103][104]
Kit and colours
The success of the India cricket team and field hockey teams in blue jerseys made the colour more prominent. The football team, however, has used some sort of shade of blue for decades.[105]
At the turn of the 21st century, India wore a sky blue shirt with black shorts and sky blue socks as their kit.[105] In 2002, the All India Football Federation signed a deal with German manufacturer Adidas to produce the India kit.[106] The first kit made by Adidas was all-white.[106] After four years with Adidas, the AIFF signed an agreement for seven years with American company Nike on 27 February 2006.[107] Nike's first kits for India were in darker blue while the away kit was changed from white to orange.[108] For the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, in which India were participating, Nike designed India's kit using the same template it used for other national teams such as Brazil.[109] In January 2013. it was announced that the AIFF's deal with Nike was extended for an extra five years.[110] In September 2017, prior to the India U17 side's participation in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Nike unveiled an all sky blue kit for the India senior and youth teams.[111] A year later, on 17 December 2018, it was announced that Indian manufacturer SIX5SIX would replace Nike as India's kit maker.[112] In becoming India's new kit makers, Six5Six also became the first manufacturer to pay for the rights to produce India kits, after both Nike and Adidas didn't pay.[112] Six5Six unveiled their first jerseys for the team before the 2019 AFC Asian Cup,[113] from which the home colour had a similar sky blue shade and the away colour was changed to white from orange. Both jerseys had a unique design embellished on the sleeves representing tiger stripes to pay homage to the Indian football fans, who affectionately calls the team "Blue Tigers".[114]
Home stadiums
Numerous venues around India have hosted home matches for the national team. There is no specific home ground for the India national team. India matches have been played at stadiums such as the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai, the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal, the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad.[115][116][117][118][119]
In recent times, competitions like 2011 SAFF Championship and 2012 Nehru Cup were held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, the 2015 SAFF Championship at Trivandrum International Stadium, 2017 Hero Tri-Nation Series and 2018 Intercontinental Cup at Mumbai Football Arena and 2019 Intercontinental Cup at the EKA Arena. Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Sree Kanteerava Stadium and Fatorda stadium have seen AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[120][121][122][123][124][125][126]
Supporters
Till the 21st century, the Indian football fans were mostly scattered, being widely based in West Bengal, North-East India, Goa and Kerala.[127][128][129][130][131] Other than matches in Asian Games, Nehru Cup or SAFF Championship,[132][133][134] the crowd showed up in small numbers when the team played as the fans were not organised under any single banner as happens in Europe or South America. Fans of different clubs used to support the team in their respective local venues but were not grouped together to support a single cause, that of the national team, until 2017 when "Blue Pilgrims" was established as the first organised fan club for the national team.[135][136][137][138]
The Blue Pilgrims formed with a motive to support the national team and the U-17 team during the historic 2017 U17 World Cup,[139] India's first ever FIFA competition participation. Started with 300 odd fans,[140][139] now they are in thousands as a unification of fans from different regions with different allegiances came together for just one cause, the Blue Tigers.[135][136] They call themselves the devotees of the Blue Tigers,[136][137] and their motto is to support India national football teams of all gender and age, wherever they play[135][136] and for such dedication they are called as the 12th man of the team.[140][139]
The Blue Pilgrims's most common chants are: "Oh India!", "In Unity we stand", "Oh India we stand for you!", "Vande Mataram".[141][142] Their sports anthems are "Oh when the blues go marching in, I wanna be in that number!" and "Hum honge kaamyab" (We shall overcome).[140] Since its formation, the Blue Pilgrims use to celebrate after every match with Viking clap with the national team members.[143][144] Fans of the India national team display the country's tricolour National flag and also wear blue jerseys in solidarity with the team. They used to display their banner Blue Pilgrims along with "Inquilab-e-Indian football" (Revolution of Indian football)[135][136][145] and often shout their common slogan, We love you, wherever you go, we follow!".[141] On 2 June 2018, the then captain Sunil Chhetri posted a video on social media. In his video he urged the fans to come out at Mumbai to support the team after a poor crowd appearance of only 2569 at a match against Chinese Taipei in the 2018 Intercontinental Cup. India achieved a massive victory in that match, winning by 5−0 with Chhetri scoring a hat-trick, but there were very few people present to celebrate.[146][147] Responding to the captain's call, the Blue Pilgrims and football supporters including the fan clubs like Manjappada, West Block Blues and East Bengal Ultras made sure that the stadiums were full during the next few matches.[147][148] In the final of that tournament, the Blue Pilgrims displayed a 30 ft (9.1 m) tall 3D tifo of a Blue Tiger, the first ever in the team's history.[143][149][150]
Media coverage
India's competitive international games are covered on television by Star Sports and on its OTT service, Hotstar.[151] Prior to this deal, the AIFF had struck a ten-year deal with Zee Sports in 2006 to broadcast Indian national team's games on its channel with the initiative of 'Goal 2010' . The aim of this whole exercise was to help India qualify for the 2010 World Cup.[152]
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2023
| 9 June 2023 2023 Intercontinental Cup | India | 2–0 | Mongolia | Bhubaneswar, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand) |
| 12 June 2023 2023 Intercontinental Cup | Vanuatu | 0–1 | India | Bhubaneswar, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Report | Chhetri 81' | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Referee: Virendha Rai (Bhutan) |
| 15 June 2023 2023 Intercontinental Cup | India | 0–0 | Lebanon | Bhubaneswar, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Referee: Javiz Mohamed (Maldives) |
| 18 June 2023 2023 Intercontinental Cup Final | India | 2–0 | Lebanon | Bhubaneswar, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Attendance: 12,600 Referee: Virendha Rai (Bhutan) |
| 24 June 2023 2023 SAFF Championship GS | Nepal | 0–2 | India | Bangalore, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 12,642 Referee: Sinan Hussain (Maldives) |
| 27 June 2023 2023 SAFF Championship GS | India | 1–1 | Kuwait | Bangalore, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Chhetri 45+2' | Report | A. Ali 90+2' (o.g.) | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 9,562 Referee: Md. Alamgir Sarker (Bangladesh) |
| 4 July 2023 2023 SAFF Championship Final | Kuwait | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | India | Bangalore, India |
| 19:30 UTC+5:30 | Al-Khaldi 14' | Report | Chhangte 36' | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 26,380 Referee: Prajwol Chhetri (Nepal) |
| Penalties | ||||
| ||||
| 7 September 2023 2023 King's Cup SF | Iraq | 2–2 (5–4 p) | India | Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| 16:00 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: 700th Anniversary Stadium Attendance: 2,884 Referee: Wiwat Jumpaoon (Thailand) | ||
| Penalties | ||||
| 10 September 2023 2023 King's Cup 3rd | Lebanon | 1–0 | India | Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| 16:00 UTC+5:30 | Kassem 77' | Report | Stadium: 700th Anniversary Stadium Attendance: 13,567 Referee: Torpong Somsingha (Thailand) |
| 13 October 2023 2023 Merdeka Tournament SF | Malaysia | 4–2 | India | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 18:30 UTC+5:30 |
| Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance: 46,150 Referee: Mongkolchai Pechsri (Thailand) |
| 16 November 2023 2026 World Cup qualification | Kuwait | 0–1 | India | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 19:30 UTC+3 | Report | M. Singh 75' | Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 32,786 Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia) |
| 21 November 2023 2026 World Cup qualification | India | 0–3 | Qatar | Bhubaneswar, India |
| 19:00 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Attendance: 11,389 Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand) |
2024
| 13 January 2024 2023 AFC Asian Cup GS | Australia | 2–0 | India | Al Rayyan, Qatar |
| 14:30 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Attendance: 35,253 Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) |
| 18 January 2024 2023 AFC Asian Cup GS | India | 0–3 | Uzbekistan | Al Rayyan, Qatar |
| 17:30 UTC+3 | Report |
| Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Attendance: 38,491 Referee: Fu Ming (China) |
| 23 January 2024 2023 AFC Asian Cup GS | Syria | 1–0 | India | Al Khor, Qatar |
| 14:30 UTC+3 | Khribin 76' | Report | Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium Attendance: 42,787 Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand) |
| 22 March 2024 2026 World Cup qualification | Afghanistan | 0–0 | India | Abha, Saudi Arabia |
| 22:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City[b] Attendance: 3,900 Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea) |
| 26 March 2024 2026 World Cup qualification | India | 1–2 | Afghanistan | Guwahati, India |
| 19:00 UTC+5:30 | Chhetri 38' (pen.) | Report | Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Attendance: 8,932 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia) |
| 6 June 2024 2026 World Cup qualification | India | v | Kuwait | Kolkata, India |
| 19:00 UTC+5:30 | Report | Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium |
| 11 June 2024 2026 World Cup qualification | Qatar | v | India | Al Rayyan, Qatar |
| 18:45 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium |
Coaching staff
Coaching history
Since India's independence, there have been twenty-nine different head coaches for the national team, out of which eleven foreign. The most successful head coach for India was Syed Abdul Rahim, who led India to gold in both the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games while also achieving a fourth-place finish during the 1956 Summer Olympics. The most successful foreign head coaches for India were Bob Houghton and Stephen Constantine; both of them helped the team to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. With Houghton in charge from 2006 to 2011,[153] India won the Nehru Cup twice and the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008, which allowed them to participate in their first AFC Asian Cup for 27 years.[153] Since Houghton resigned as head coach in 2011, the Indian national team's FIFA ranking touched its lowest at 173 in the team history in March 2015,[154][155] but Constantine, who was appointed for the second time as the head coach of India,[156][157] revived the Indian team from its meagre condition. Under him, the team remained unbeaten for two years from June 2016 to March 2018 winning 11 matches and drawn 2 matches,[158][159] which helped them to qualify for 2019 AFC Asian Cup, 8 years since Houghton left.[160] He also helped the team to reach a better FIFA ranking of 96 in July 2017, which was the best in last 21 years.[154][155]
Present coaching staff
| Position | Name | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Igor Štimac | [161] |
| Assistant coaches | Mahesh Gawli | [162] |
| Trevor Sinclair | [163] | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Frano Srdarev | [164] |
| Fitness coach | Luka Radman | [165] |
Players
Current squad
The following 25 players were called up for the two matches of Round 2 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification against Afghanistan.[166]
Caps and goals are correct as of 27 March 2024, after the match against Afghanistan.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Vice Captain) | 3 February 1992 | 70 | 0 | Bengaluru |
| 13 | GK | Vishal Kaith | 22 July 1996 | 4 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 23 | GK | Amrinder Singh | 27 May 1993 | 13 | 0 | Odisha |
| 2 | DF | Rahul Bheke | 6 December 1990 | 27 | 1 | Mumbai City |
| 3 | DF | Subhasish Bose | 18 August 1995 | 38 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 4 | DF | Anwar Ali | 28 August 2000 | 20 | 1 | Mohun Bagan |
| 6 | DF | Akash Mishra | 27 November 2001 | 26 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 15 | DF | Mehtab Singh | 5 May 1998 | 9 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 16 | DF | Jay Gupta | 27 September 2001 | 0 | 0 | Goa |
| 21 | DF | Nikhil Poojary | 3 September 1995 | 24 | 1 | Bengaluru |
| 22 | DF | Amey Ranawade | 7 March 1998 | 0 | 0 | Odisha |
| 4 | MF | Jeakson Singh Thounaojam | 21 June 2001 | 21 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
| 7 | MF | Anirudh Thapa | 15 January 1998 | 55 | 4 | Mohun Bagan |
| 8 | MF | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 7 August 2000 | 23 | 1 | Bengaluru |
| 10 | MF | Brandon Fernandes | 20 September 1994 | 24 | 0 | Goa |
| 14 | MF | Naorem Mahesh Singh | 1 March 1999 | 19 | 3 | East Bengal |
| 18 | MF | Sahal Abdul Samad | 1 April 1997 | 35 | 3 | Mohun Bagan |
| 19 | MF | Lalengmawia Ralte | 17 October 2000 | 16 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 22 | MF | Imran Khan | 1 March 1995 | 0 | 0 | Jamshedpur |
| 25 | MF | Deepak Tangri | 1 February 1999 | 4 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 9 | FW | Manvir Singh | 7 November 1995 | 42 | 7 | Mohun Bagan |
| 11 | FW | Sunil Chhetri (Captain) | 3 August 1984 | 150 | 94 | Bengaluru |
| 12 | FW | Liston Colaco | 12 November 1998 | 28 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 17 | FW | Lallianzuala Chhangte | 8 June 1997 | 34 | 7 | Mumbai City |
| 20 | FW | Vikram Partap Singh | 16 January 2002 | 5 | 0 | Mumbai City |
Recent callups
The following footballers were part of national selection in the past twelve months, but are not part of the current call-up.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Gurmeet Singh | 3 December 1999 | 0 | 0 | NorthEast United | 2023 King's Cup |
| GK | Phurba Lachenpa | 4 February 1998 | 0 | 0 | Mumbai City | NT Camp, May 2023 |
| DF | Lalchungnunga | 25 December 2000 | 1 | 0 | East Bengal | 2023 AFC Asian Cup, January 2024 |
| DF | Sandesh Jhingan | 21 July 1993 | 61 | 5 | Goa | 2023 AFC Asian Cup, January 2024INJ |
| DF | Pritam Kotal | 8 September 1993 | 52 | 0 | Kerala Blasters | 2023 AFC Asian Cup, January 2024 |
| DF | Naorem Roshan Singh | 2 February 1999 | 10 | 0 | Bengaluru | vs Qatar, 21 November 2023 |
| DF | Asish Rai | 27 January 1999 | 1 | 0 | Mohun Bagan | 2023 King's Cup |
| MF | Rohit Kumar | 1 April 1997 | 13 | 0 | Bengaluru | vs Qatar, 21 November 2023 |
| MF | Nandhakumar Sekar | 20 December 1995 | 3 | 0 | East Bengal | vs Kuwait, 16 November 2023 |
| MF | Glan Martins | 1 July 1994 | 13 | 0 | Mohun Bagan | vs Kuwait, 16 November 2023INJ |
| MF | Ashique Kuruniyan | 18 June 1997 | 34 | 2 | Mohun Bagan | 2023 King's CupINJ |
| MF | Rowllin Borges | 5 June 1992 | 35 | 2 | Goa | 2023 Intercontinental Cup |
| FW | Udanta Singh Kumam | 14 June 1996 | 48 | 2 | Goa | 2023 AFC Asian Cup, January 2024 |
| FW | Rahul K. P. | 16 February 2000 | 6 | 0 | Kerala Blasters | 2023 AFC Asian Cup, January 2024 |
| FW | Ishan Pandita | 26 May 1998 | 7 | 1 | Kerala Blasters | 2023 AFC Asian Cup, January 2024 |
| FW | Rahim Ali | 21 April 2000 | 13 | 0 | Chennaiyin | 2023 King's Cup |
| FW | Sivasakthi Narayanan | 9 July 2001 | 0 | 0 | Bengaluru | NT Camp, May 2023 |
| ||||||
Notable players
During the early 20th century, India produced one of the best footballers from Asia at that time, Gostha Pal. Pal began playing professional football at the age of 16 in 1911, becoming India's first captain, and was considered one of the best defenders India had ever produced. He was also the first footballer to be awarded Padma Shree in the year 1962,[167] and in 1998, the Government of India introduced a postal stamp in his honour.[6] In the later 1930s, players like R. Lumsden, Noor Mohammed, T. Rahim, K. Prosad, A. Nandi under the leadership of Karuna Bhattacharya played for India who scored a total of 56 goals in 17 matches during the 1938 Australia tour out of which 5 matches were against Australia, where Lumsden scored the first international hat-trick for India.[168][9]
India's first captain after the country gained independence was Dr. Talimeren Ao. At a very young age, using footballs made out of rags, Ao gradually improved his skills as a defensive midfielder. He was given the responsibility of leading the team at the 1948 Olympics, India's first major tournament[169][170] and also was the flag bearer of Indian contingents in London.[171] Also during this era, India produced Sailen Manna, one of the country's best defenders.[172] He was given the India captaincy in 1951 during the Asian Games, led the team to the gold medal, India's first major international honour,[172] and also captained the team during the 1952 Olympics and 1954 Asian Games.[172] In 1953, England Football Association rated Manna among "10 Best Skippers of the World" in its yearbook,[173] the Government of India awarded him Padma Shri in 1971[167] and AIFF honoured him as "AIFF Player-of-the-Millennium" in 2000.[172]
During India's golden era between the 1950s and early 60s, the country produced coveted strikers such as Sheoo Mewalal, Neville D'Souza, Chuni Goswami, Inder Singh and Tulsidas Balaram. Mewalal was India's starting striker during the 1948 Olympics, 1952 Olympics and 1951 Asian games where he ended as the tournament top goalscorer with four goals.[174][175] Mewalal was the first Indian player to score a hat-trick since the country gained independence when he scored it against Burma during the 1952 Colombo Cup.[176] D'Souza meanwhile became the first Asian player to score a hat-trick at the Olympic Games,[177] scoring a hat-trick against Australia during the 1956 Olympics.[178] D'Souza also tied for top goalscorer in that edition of the Olympics, which helped India reach the semi-finals.[179] Goswami represented India at the 1958 Asian Games and the 1960 Olympics, and captained the side during the 1962 Asian Games and the 1964 Asian Cup.[180] He was bestowed with Padma Shri by the Government of India and AFC honoured him as "Best Striker of Asia" in 1962.[181]
P. K. Banerjee, a winger who represented India at the 1956 Olympics and later captained the side during the 1960 Olympics, was named as the best "Indian player of the 20th Century".[182] Peter Thangaraj was the starting goalkeeper for India during the later stage of India's golden era, being named as best "Indian keeper of the 20th Century" by IFFHS.[182] P. K. Banerjee was honoured with Padma Shri by Government of India in 1990, and in 2004 FIFA bestowed him with "FIFA Centennial Order of Merit" Award, the highest honour awarded by FIFA.[183]
From the 1970s to the 2000s, India saw a decline in their results. Despite the lack of tournament victories, the country managed to produce players like Syed Nayeemuddin who led India to bronze at the 1970 Asian Games.[184] During the 1990s, I. M. Vijayan, India's best player at the time, was capped 66 times for India while scoring 29 goals and captaining the team several times.[185]
In 1995, Bhaichung Bhutia debuted for India. With Bhutia, India qualified for the AFC Asian Cup after a drought of 27 years.[186] He was the captain of the team for over ten years.[187][188][189] Considered one of the greatest footballers of India, he is the second-most-capped player of India with 84 caps and scored 27 times for India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008[167] and IFFHS listed him among the legendary players of football in 2016.[190] Under Bhutia's captaincy Sunil Chhetri debuted for India who is now the only footballer in India's history to have played 100 international matches and is the all-time highest goal-scorer of India.[191][192] Chhetri led the national team to many victories, most importantly qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup and under his leadership the team achieved its highest FIFA ranking of 96 after twenty-one years.[154][155] His goal-scoring ability and skills made him the only Indian striker to score four hat-tricks for India.[193][194][195] Sunil Chhetri is now the third-highest international goalscorer among active players, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,[196][197] but fourth overall, and is also the most-capped player and the all-time top goalscorer of the India national team.[198][199][200]
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
India has never played in the finals of the FIFA World Cup.[201] After gaining independence in 1947, India managed to qualify for the World Cup held in 1950.[202] This was due to Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines withdrawing from qualification round.[201] However, prior to the start of the tournament, India themselves withdrew due to the expenses required in getting the team to Brazil.[201] But this reason was untrue because FIFA was ready to give money to India (AIFF) for their trip to Brazil.[203] Other reasons cited for why India withdrew include FIFA not allowing Indian players to play in the tournament barefoot and the All India Football Federation not considering the FIFA World Cup an important tournament compared to the Olympics, but according to some pundits barefoot was a made up story, manufactured by AIFF to stop people asking questions on "why didn't India participate in the 1950 FIFA World Cup?".[204][201] AIFF did not have confidence in the Indian players then that they would compete in the World Cup against the world's top teams and win.[205]
After withdrawing from the 1950 FIFA World Cup, India did not enter the qualifying rounds of the tournament between 1954 and 1982.[206] Since the 1986 qualifiers, with the exception of the 1990 edition of the tournament, the team participated in World Cup qualification, but has yet to qualify for the finals again.[206]
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Ref. | |
| 1930 to 1938 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | – | ||||||||||||||
| 1950 | Qualified, but withdrew | Qualified by default | [207] | ||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Denied by FIFA | Denied by FIFA | [208] | ||||||||||||||
| 1958 to 1982 | Did not enter | Did not enter | – | ||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | [209] | |||||||||
| 1990 | Withdrew from qualification | – | |||||||||||||||
| 1994 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 22 | [210] | ||||||||||
| 1998 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | [211] | ||||||||||
| 2002 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | [212] | ||||||||||
| 2006 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 18 | [213] | ||||||||||
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | [214] | ||||||||||
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [215] | ||||||||||
| 2018 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 18 | [216] | ||||||||||
| 2022 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | [217] | ||||||||||
| 2026 | To be determined | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | – | |||||||||
| 2030 | To be determined | ||||||||||||||||
| 2034 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | 0/19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 55 | 12 | 16 | 27 | 51 | 99 | — | |
AFC Asian Cup
India has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup five times. The team played their first Asian Cup in 1964. The team managed to qualify following other nations' refusal to play against India due to political reasons.[218][219] India managed to finish the tournament as runners-up to hosts Israel, with Inder Singh finishing as joint top-scorer.[219] Since then India has failed to progress beyond the first round of the Asian Cup with their participation at the 1984[220] and 2011 Asian Cups,[221] and most recently the 2019 Asian Cup.[80]
In June 2022, India qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup after winning all the matches in the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification. This is the first time ever India qualified consecutively for the continental championship.[90]
| AFC Asian Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Ref. | |
| 1956 | Did not enter | Did not enter | – | ||||||||||||||
| 1960 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 9 | [222] | |||||||||
| 1964 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Squad | Qualified by default | [223] | ||||||
| 1968 | Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | [224] | |||||||||
| 1972 | Did not enter | Did not enter | – | ||||||||||||||
| 1976 | – | ||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | – | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Group stage | 10th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | [225] | |
| 1988 | Did not qualify | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | [226] | |||||||||
| 1992 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | [227] | ||||||||||
| 1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | [228] | ||||||||||
| 2000 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | [229] | ||||||||||
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | [230] | ||||||||||
| 2007 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 24 | [231] | ||||||||||
| 2011 | Group stage | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | Squad | AFC Challenge Cup | [232] | ||||||
| 2015 | Did not qualify | [233] | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Group stage | 17th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | Squad | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 24 | [234] | |
| 2023 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Squad | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 8 | [235] | |
| 2027 | To be determined | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | – | |||||||||
| Totals | Runners-up | 2nd | 16 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 33 | — | 67 | 20 | 12 | 35 | 75 | 111 | — | |
Summer Olympics
India competed in four straight Olympic football tournaments between 1948 and 1960.[236] Their sole 1948 Olympics match against France was also India's first ever international match since the country gained independence in 1947.[10] During the match, a majority of the Indian side played barefoot.[10] The match ended in a 2–1 defeat, with Sarangapani Raman scoring the lone goal for India.[10] India then returned to the Olympics four years later where they took on Yugoslavia in the preliminary rounds. The team suffered a 10–1 defeat, India's largest margin of defeat in a competitive match, and were knocked out.[237]
Four years later, during the 1956 Olympics, India managed to reach the semi-finals and finish fourth. After India's first round opponents, Hungary, withdrew from the tournament, the team played against hosts Australia in the quarter-finals. A Neville D'Souza hat-trick, the first by an Asian footballer in the Olympics, helped India win 4–2.[238] However, in the semi-finals, India once again suffered defeat against Yugoslavia, going down 4–1. In the bronze medal match, India were defeated 3–0 by Bulgaria.[238]
In 1960, India competed in Group D with Hungary, France and Peru. India ended the group in last place, drawing once.[239] India have since failed to qualify for another Olympic games.
| Summer Olympics record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Ref. | |
| 1908 to 1936 | Did not enter | Did not enter | – | ||||||||||||||
| 1948 | Round 1 | 11th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad | Qualified automatically | [240] | ||||||
| 1952 | Preliminaries | 25th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | Squad | Qualified automatically | [241] | ||||||
| 1956 | Semi-finals | 4th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Squad | Bye | [242] | ||||||
| 1960 | Round 1 | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | Squad | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | [243] | |
| 1964 to 1988 | Did not qualify | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 34 | 38 | – | |||||||||
| 1992–present | See India national U-23 team | See India national U-23 team | |||||||||||||||
| Totals | Semi-finals | 4th | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 27 | — | 23 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 45 | 42 | — | |
Asian Games
India competed in eleven Asian Games, starting from 1951 to 1998, except the 1990 and 1994 editions.[244] In 1951 Asian Games India won their first match against Indonesia in the first round and then defeated Japan in semi-final and went on to win against Iran in the final in front of the home crowd. The achievement of the Indian team was a special one as they became the first ever Asian Games gold medalists in football and also the first ever Asian football champions as well.[245][246]
Though the next two tournaments proved to be less successful for the team, but they bounced back by winning the gold at the 1962 Asian games by defeating the Asian Cup winners South Korea in the final to win their second continental title. The team failed to defend their title in 1966 and went on to claim the bronze medal in 1970.[247]
This was the last time India ever finished on the medal podium, the next years proved to be hard for the Indian team to regain their dominance as the side went through a sharp decline.[248] After two disappointing editions in 1974 and 1978, India performed much better in the 1982 Asiad, which they hosted for the second time by reaching the quarter-finals but lost to Saudi Arabia. Due to the poor performance in 1986 Asian Games the authorities decided not to send the team for the upcoming games.[249] The team made their return in 1998.
| Asian Games record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Ref. |
| 1951 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Squad | [250] |
| 1954 | Round 1 | 8th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | Squad | [251] |
| 1958 | Semi-finals | 4th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 13 | Squad | [252] |
| 1962 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | Squad | [253] |
| 1966 | Round 1 | 8th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | Squad | [254] |
| 1970 | Third Place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | Squad | [255] |
| 1974 | Round 1 | 13th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | Squad | [256] |
| 1978 | Round 2 | 8th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 | Squad | [257] |
| 1982 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Squad | [258] |
| 1986 | Round 1 | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Squad | [259] |
| 1990 | did not enter | |||||||||
| 1994 | did not enter | |||||||||
| 1998 | Round 2 | 16th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 8 | Squad | [260] |
| 2002–present | See India national U-23 team | |||||||||
| Totals | 2 Titles | 1st | 44 | 18 | 2 | 24 | 61 | 83 | — | – |
SAFF Championship
India has played in all editions of the SAFF Championship (except in 2009 when they sent under-23 team) and has been the most successful team in the competition winning an overall eight titles.[261] The team played in the knockout stage of every tournament except in 1993 when the tournament was in a league format.[262] The team also boasts a prestigious record of claiming medal at every championships played so far.[263] India has played in the final of every championship except the 2003 tournament where they claimed bronze medal for the first time.[264][265]
| SAFF Championship record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Ref. |
| 1993 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | [266] |
| 1995 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Squad | [267] |
india, national, football, team, this, article, about, team, women, team, india, women, national, football, team, represents, india, international, football, governed, india, football, federation, indianickname, blue, tigersassociationall, india, football, fed. This article is about the men s team For the women s team see India women s national football team The India national football team represents India in men s international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation IndiaNickname s The Blue TigersAssociationAll India Football Federation AIFF ConfederationAFC Asia Sub confederationSAFF South Asia Head coachIgor StimacCaptainSunil ChhetriMost capsSunil Chhetri 150 1 Top scorerSunil Chhetri 94 1 Home stadiumVariousFIFA codeINDFirst coloursSecond coloursFIFA rankingCurrent121 4 4 April 2024 2 Highest94 February 1996 2 Lowest173 March 2015 2 First internationalPre independence Australia 5 3 India Sydney Australia 3 September 1938 Post independence India 1 2 France London England 31 July 1948 Biggest win India 7 0 Sri Lanka Bangalore India 7 December 1963 Biggest defeat Soviet Union 11 1 India Moscow Soviet Union 16 September 1955 Summer OlympicsAppearances4 first in 1948 Best resultSemi finals 1956 Asian CupAppearances5 first in 1964 Best resultRunners up 1964 Asian GamesAppearances11 first in 1951 Best resultChampions 1951 1962 SAFF ChampionshipAppearances13 first in 1993 Best resultChampions 1993 1997 1999 2005 2011 2015 2021 2023 Medal record Men s football Asian Cup 1964 Israel Team Asian Games 1951 New Delhi Team 1962 Jakarta Team 1970 Bangkok Team AFC Challenge Cup 2008 India Team SAFF Championship 1993 Pakistan N A 1997 Nepal N A 1999 India Team 2005 Pakistan Team 2011 India Team 2015 India Team 2021 Maldives Team 2023 India Team 1995 Sri Lanka Team 2008 Maldives amp Sri Lanka Team 2013 Nepal Team 2018 Bangladesh Team 2003 Bangladesh Team South Asian Games 1985 Dhaka 1987 Calcutta 1995 Madras 1993 Dhaka 1989 Islamabad 1999 KathmanduWebsitewww wbr the aiff wbr com The team which is considered as the best team in South Asia won two gold medals at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games while finishing fourth at the 1956 Summer Olympics India has never participated in the FIFA World Cup although they did qualify by default for the 1950 World Cup after all other nations in their qualification group withdrew However India withdrew prior to the beginning of the tournament The team has also appeared four times in the AFC Asian Cup Asia s top football championship and finished as runners up in 1964 India also participates in the SAFF Championship the top regional football competition in South Asia They have won the tournament record eight times since its inception in 1993 In the 21st century besides the SAFF Championship triumphs India won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 editions India also won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup by which the team qualified for the Asian Cup after 27 years gap Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1930s 1940s 1 2 Golden years 1950s 1960s 1 3 Decline 1970s 2000 1 4 Resurgence 2001 2011 1 5 Recent history 2011 2018 1 6 Igor Stimac era 2019 present 2 Team image 2 1 Nicknames 2 2 Kit and colours 2 3 Home stadiums 2 4 Supporters 2 5 Media coverage 3 Results and fixtures 3 1 2023 3 2 2024 4 Coaching staff 4 1 Coaching history 4 2 Present coaching staff 5 Players 5 1 Current squad 5 2 Recent callups 5 3 Notable players 6 Competitive record 6 1 FIFA World Cup 6 2 AFC Asian Cup 6 3 Summer Olympics 6 4 Asian Games 6 5 SAFF Championship 7 Honours 7 1 Major tournaments 7 2 Minor tournaments 8 Explanatory note 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksHistoryMain article History of the India national football team Early years 1930s 1940s nbsp nbsp In the top image Indian team in white jersey and all European team in black jersey together before a match held in Calcutta on 1 July 1938 In bottom image India side that participated in the 1948 Olympics match against France The first known official international tour of the Indian team which at that time consisted of both Indian and British players was in 1924 when it was led by Indian footballer Gostha Pal 5 Football teams consisting of entirely Indian players started to tour Australia Japan Indonesia and Thailand during the late 1930s The first international match India played before independence is yet to be verified but they are known to have played Ceylon in 1933 winning 1 0 5 6 7 In the year 1937 India carried out a lengthy tour of Australia at the request of the Australian Football Association From August to October they played 17 matches against various state district and club teams and 5 friendly matches against the Australian national team 8 The first of these on 3 September in Sydney is India s first international game to be recognised by FIFA and ended in a 5 3 defeat 8 After drawing the second match in Brisbane 4 4 India won the third match at Newcastle 4 1 to claim their first international win 9 The national team played their first match as an independent nation in the first round of the 1948 Summer Olympics against France in a 2 1 defeat Famously the Indian team did not wear boots playing either barefoot or in socks something that would be banned by FIFA later in the year 10 11 a Golden years 1950s 1960s In 1950 India managed to qualify for the 1950 FIFA World Cup which was scheduled to take place in Brazil after all the other teams in their qualifying group withdrew However India themselves withdrew from the tournament shortly before it began officially this was due to travel costs but FIFA had offered to pay the team s travel expenses and the real reason behind their withdrawal has been widely speculated in the decades since 12 13 14 15 While it was commonly believed that India withdrew due to FIFA s ban on playing barefoot the team s captain at that time Sailen Manna insisted that this was not the case it is now generally accepted that India withdrew simply because they valued the Olympics more than the World Cup and did not view the latter is being prestigious enough to justify taking part 11 16 Since then India have yet to qualify for another World Cup 17 nbsp Indian team at a tussle against Bulgaria at the 1956 Olympics Despite not participating in the World Cup in 1950 and opting not to even play the Asian zone qualifiers until 1985 the following years until 1964 are usually considered to be the golden era of the Indian football 18 India coached by Hyderabad City Police head coach Syed Abdul Rahim 19 20 became one of the best teams in Asia 21 22 In March 1951 Rahim led India to their first ever triumph during the 1951 Asian Games hosted in India The team defeated Iran 1 0 in the gold medal match to win their first trophy 23 24 Sahu Mewalal scored the winning goal for India in that match 23 The following year India competed in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki but were unused to the cold conditions 10 and lost 10 1 to Yugoslavia 25 Following this defeat the AIFF made it mandatory for footballers to wear boots 10 After taking the defeat in Helsinki Finland India participated in various minor tournaments such as the Colombo Cup which they won four times from 1952 to 1955 26 In 1954 India returned to the Asian Games as defending champions in Manila Despite their achievement three years prior India was unable to go past the group stage as the team finished second in Group C during the tournament two points behind Indonesia 27 Two years later at the 1956 Summer Olympics India went on to achieve the team s greatest result in a competitive tournament The team finished in fourth place during the Summer Olympics football tournament losing the bronze medal match to Bulgaria 3 0 The tournament is also known for Neville D Souza s hat trick against Australia in the quarterfinals D Souza s hat trick was the first scored by an Asian in Olympic history 28 India defeated Australia by 4 2 in that match at the Olympic Park Stadium 28 After their good performance during the Summer Olympics India participated in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo The team once again finished fourth losing the bronze medal match to Indonesia 4 1 29 The next year the team travelled to Malaysia where they took part in the 1959 Merdeka tournament and finished as the tournament runners up 30 India began the 1960s with the 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers Despite the qualifiers for the West Zone being held in Kochi India finished last in their qualification group and thus missed out the tournament 31 Despite the set back India went on to win the gold medal during the Asian Games for the second time in 1962 The team defeated South Korea 2 1 to win their second major championship 32 Two years later following their Asian Games triumph India participated in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup after all the other teams in their qualification group withdrew Despite their automatic entry into the continental tournament India team managed to finish as the runners up during the tournament losing out to the hosts Israel by two points This remains India s best performance in the AFC Asian Cup 33 Decline 1970s 2000 nbsp India vs Argentina match at the Eden Gardens during the 1984 Nehru Cup India returned to the Asian Games in 1966 Despite their performance two years prior during the AFC Asian Cup India could not go beyond the group stage as the team finished third behind Japan and Iran 34 Four years later during the 1970 Asian Games India came back and took third place during the tournament The team defeated Japan 1 0 during the bronze medal match 35 In 1974 India s performance in the Asian Games once again sharply declined as they finished the 1974 edition in last place in their group losing all three matches scoring two and conceding 14 goals in the first round 36 India then showed steady improvement during the 1978 tournament finishing second in their group of three The team were then knocked out in the next round finishing last in their group with three defeats from three matches 37 The 1982 tournament proved to be better for India as the side managed to qualify for the quarter finals before losing to Saudi Arabia 1 0 38 In 1984 India managed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since their second place triumph in 1964 During the 1984 tournament India finished in last place in their five team group in the first round 39 India s only non defeat during the tournament came against Iran a 0 0 draw 39 Despite India s decline from a major football power in Asia the team still managed to assert its dominance as the top team in South Asia India managed to win the football competition of the South Asian Games in 1985 and then again won the gold medal in 1987 40 The team then began the 1990s by winning the inaugural SAFF Championship in 1993 and silver medal at the 1993 South Asian Games In February 1996 India achieved its highest FIFA ranking of 94 under Bhaichung Bhutia s captaincy 41 42 The team ended the 20th century by winning the SAFF Championship again in 1997 and 1999 42 Resurgence 2001 2011 nbsp India playing against Syria at the 2007 Nehru Cup India s first competitive matches of the 21st century were the 2002 FIFA World Cup first round qualifiers India took a very bright start defeating the United Arab Emirates 1 0 drawing Yemen 1 1 as well as two victories over Brunei including a 5 0 victory in Bangalore However they finished a point away from qualification for the next round 43 In 2003 India took part in the 2003 SAFF Championship The team qualified for the semi finals but fell to Bangladesh 2 1 44 Later in 2003 India participated in the Afro Asian Games being held in Hyderabad Under the coaching of Stephen Constantine India managed to make it to the final of the tournament after defeating Zimbabwe a team ranked 85 places above India in the FIFA rankings at the time 5 3 45 Despite the major victory during the gold medal match India were defeated 1 0 by Uzbekistan 46 Because of this achievement Constantine was voted as the Asian Football Confederation s Manager of the Month for October 2003 The tournament result also gave India more recognition around the country and around the world 45 nbsp The captain of Indian Football team Bhaichung Bhutia celebrating along with other players after winning the 2007 Nehru Cup final Constantine was replaced by Syed Nayeemuddin in 2005 but the Indian head coach only lasted for a little over a year as India suffered many heavy defeats during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers 47 During this time India were defeated 6 0 by Japan 3 0 by Saudi Arabia and Yemen respectively at home and 7 1 away in Jeddah 48 Former Malmo and China coach Bob Houghton was brought in as head coach in May 2006 49 Under Houghton India witnessed massive improvement in their football standing In August 2007 Houghton won the country the restarted Nehru Cup after India defeated Syria 1 0 in the final 50 Pappachen Pradeep scored the winning goal for India that match The next year Houghton led India during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup which was hosted in Hyderabad and Delhi During the tournament India breezed through the group stage before defeating Myanmar in the semi finals In the final against Tajikistan India through a Sunil Chhetri hat trick won the match 4 1 The victory not only earned India the championship but it also allowed India to qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup the nation s first Asian Cup appearance in 27 years 51 In order to prepare for the Asian Cup Houghton had the team stay together as a squad for eight months from June 2010 until the start of the tournament meaning the players would not play for their clubs 52 India were drawn into Group C for the Asian Cup with Australia South Korea and Bahrain 53 Even though they stayed together as a team for eight months India lost all three of their matches during the Asian Cup including a 4 0 defeat to Australia 54 Despite the results India were praised by fans and pundits for their valiant efforts during the tournament 54 Recent history 2011 2018 After participating the 2011 AFC Asian Cup India s campaign to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup began in February 2011 with the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers Bob Houghton decided to change the makeup of the India squad replacing many of the older players from the Asian Cup with some young players from the AIFF development side in the I League Indian Arrows 55 Even with a young side India managed to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup 56 Despite qualifying for the AFC Challenge Cup the AIFF decided to terminate the contract of Bob Houghton as he was charged with racial abuse towards referee 57 58 which ultimately resulted in his resignation as the head coach of India 59 60 After having Dempo coach Armando Colaco as interim head coach 61 the AIFF signed Savio Medeira as head coach in October 2011 62 Medeira led India to another SAFF Championship victory but also to their worst performance in the AFC Challenge Cup in March 2012 The team lost all three of their group matches unable to score a single goal during the tournament 63 After the tournament Medeira was replaced as head coach by Dutchman Wim Koevermans 64 Koevermans first job as head coach was the 2012 Nehru Cup India won their third successive Nehru Cup defeating Cameroon on penalties 65 66 In March 2013 India failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup and thus also failed to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup 67 The team also failed to retain the SAFF Championship losing 2 0 to Afghanistan in the 2013 final 68 After more bad results in friendlies Koevermans resigned as head coach in October 2014 69 By March 2015 after not playing any matches India reached their lowest FIFA ranking position of 173 70 A couple months prior Stephen Constantine was re hired as the head coach after first leading India more than a decade before 71 Constantine s first major assignment back as the India head coach were the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers After making it through the first round of qualifiers India crashed out during the second round losing seven of their eight matches and thus once again failed to qualify for the World Cup 72 nbsp India playing XI against Thailand at 2019 AFC Asian Cup Despite failure to qualify for the World Cup India managed to reach the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers after defeating Laos in the play off round on aggregate 7 1 73 On 11 October 2017 India secured qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after a 4 1 victory over Macau 74 In 2017 India remained undefeated by drawing two and winning seven games which helped the team to reach 96 in the FIFA ranking in May which is its second highest FIFA rank ever 41 Though defeated at the 2018 SAFF Championship final 1 2 against Maldives in September 2018 75 India regained the momentum with some friendlies against China Jordan and Oman as they began the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a 4 1 victory against Thailand this was their biggest ever win at the Asia Cup and their first in 55 years 76 77 Nevertheless they lost both of their next two group matches against UAE and Bahrain 0 2 and 0 1 respectively 78 79 and finished at the bottom of the group thus failed to move to knock out stage 80 Stephen Constantine immediately resigned from his position as head coach following the failure to progress further in the tournament 81 Igor Stimac era 2019 present On 15 May 2019 the AIFF announced former Croatian player and coach Igor Stimac as the team s head coach after the departure of Stephen Constantine 82 His first major assignment with India was 2022 World Cup qualification where it began with a 1 2 home loss to Oman 83 But in the second match they earned a respectable point after managing a goalless draw against the 2019 Asian Champion and 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar 84 41 However in the third match the home leg against Bangladesh saw them managing a disappointing 1 1 draw 85 A similar result was repeated in the away leg against Afghanistan 86 In the away leg India lost yet again to Oman by a solitary goal thus shortening their hopes to qualify for the next round 87 After several postponements due to COVID 19 the team finally flew to Doha to play their remainder of games In the return leg against Qatar India went down to the hosts with a single goal and got knocked out of the World Cup qualification tournament with two games to spare The team then made a comeback by winning their next match against Bangladesh 2 0 and ended their campaign with a 1 1 draw against Afghanistan With seven points in total India finished third on the table behind Qatar and Oman thus getting eliminated from the World Cup during the second round However they were qualified into the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification 88 In the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification India was drawn in the same group with Afghanistan Hong Kong and Cambodia Due to the COVID 19 pandemic India was chosen as the host of the group of the qualifiers while the qualification was reduced into a single round robin format 89 Using this home advantage India was able to top the group with three wins against Cambodia 2 0 Afghanistan 2 1 and Hong Kong 4 0 therefore for the first time India qualified for two consecutive AFC Asian Cups in history 90 In September 2022 India participated for the first time in the VFF Cup where they played two friendly matches a 1 1 draw against Singapore and a 3 0 defeat by Vietnam ending their year 91 92 In 2023 India began their campaign by winning the 2023 Tri Nation Series and the 2023 Intercontinental Cup both were organized by AIFF India beat Myanmar 1 0 and Kyrgyzstan 2 0 in the Tri Nation series and defeated Lebanon 2 0 in the final of Intercontinental Cup to win the title for the second time 93 94 Following the Tri Nation Series and the Intercontinental Cup India won the 2023 SAFF championship their third title in the year 2023 at home soil 95 India defeated Pakistan 4 0 and Nepal 2 0 and drawn 1 1 against Kuwait in the group stage 96 97 98 After defeating Lebanon in penalty shoot out in the semi finals India faced Kuwait again in the tournament for the final The match was tied 1 1 till the added time and eventually India defeated Kuwait in the penalty shoot out to lift the SAFF Cup for a record nine times Sunil Chhetri was the highest goal scorer of the edition with 5 goals including a hat trick against Pakistan his fourth for the national team With this hat trick he scored 92 goals becoming the second highest international goalscorer from Asia of all time His tally of 92 put him as the fourth highest goalscorer in the history of international football 99 100 Heading to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup tournament India was the only national team without any friendly match as preparation 101 India ended up losing all matches in the group stage against Australia 0 2 Uzbekistan 0 3 and Syria 0 1 without scoring any goals as well 102 Team imageNicknames India is officially known by the nickname The Blue Tigers since 2013 It is inspired by the colour blue which forms the primary colour of the team s home kit depicting Ashoka Chakra s colour in the national flag similar to the Indian national teams of other sports and the tiger which is the national animal of India 103 104 Kit and colours See also Kit history The success of the India cricket team and field hockey teams in blue jerseys made the colour more prominent The football team however has used some sort of shade of blue for decades 105 nbsp India in 2007 wearing their traditional blue jersey At the turn of the 21st century India wore a sky blue shirt with black shorts and sky blue socks as their kit 105 In 2002 the All India Football Federation signed a deal with German manufacturer Adidas to produce the India kit 106 The first kit made by Adidas was all white 106 After four years with Adidas the AIFF signed an agreement for seven years with American company Nike on 27 February 2006 107 Nike s first kits for India were in darker blue while the away kit was changed from white to orange 108 For the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in which India were participating Nike designed India s kit using the same template it used for other national teams such as Brazil 109 In January 2013 it was announced that the AIFF s deal with Nike was extended for an extra five years 110 In September 2017 prior to the India U17 side s participation in the FIFA U 17 World Cup Nike unveiled an all sky blue kit for the India senior and youth teams 111 A year later on 17 December 2018 it was announced that Indian manufacturer SIX5SIX would replace Nike as India s kit maker 112 In becoming India s new kit makers Six5Six also became the first manufacturer to pay for the rights to produce India kits after both Nike and Adidas didn t pay 112 Six5Six unveiled their first jerseys for the team before the 2019 AFC Asian Cup 113 from which the home colour had a similar sky blue shade and the away colour was changed to white from orange Both jerseys had a unique design embellished on the sleeves representing tiger stripes to pay homage to the Indian football fans who affectionately calls the team Blue Tigers 114 Home stadiums See also Home stadiums nbsp nbsp The Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata left and the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi Numerous venues around India have hosted home matches for the national team There is no specific home ground for the India national team India matches have been played at stadiums such as the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi the Fatorda Stadium in Margao the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad 115 116 117 118 119 In recent times competitions like 2011 SAFF Championship and 2012 Nehru Cup were held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi the 2015 SAFF Championship at Trivandrum International Stadium 2017 Hero Tri Nation Series and 2018 Intercontinental Cup at Mumbai Football Arena and 2019 Intercontinental Cup at the EKA Arena Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Sree Kanteerava Stadium and Fatorda stadium have seen AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 Supporters See also Blue Pilgrims nbsp Blue Pilgrims displaying national flag and their own banners at the 2018 Intercontinental Cup Till the 21st century the Indian football fans were mostly scattered being widely based in West Bengal North East India Goa and Kerala 127 128 129 130 131 Other than matches in Asian Games Nehru Cup or SAFF Championship 132 133 134 the crowd showed up in small numbers when the team played as the fans were not organised under any single banner as happens in Europe or South America Fans of different clubs used to support the team in their respective local venues but were not grouped together to support a single cause that of the national team until 2017 when Blue Pilgrims was established as the first organised fan club for the national team 135 136 137 138 The Blue Pilgrims formed with a motive to support the national team and the U 17 team during the historic 2017 U17 World Cup 139 India s first ever FIFA competition participation Started with 300 odd fans 140 139 now they are in thousands as a unification of fans from different regions with different allegiances came together for just one cause the Blue Tigers 135 136 They call themselves the devotees of the Blue Tigers 136 137 and their motto is to support India national football teams of all gender and age wherever they play 135 136 and for such dedication they are called as the 12th man of the team 140 139 nbsp The 3D Blue Tiger tifo displayed by Blue Pilgrims in June 2018 The Blue Pilgrims s most common chants are Oh India In Unity we stand Oh India we stand for you Vande Mataram 141 142 Their sports anthems are Oh when the blues go marching in I wanna be in that number and Hum honge kaamyab We shall overcome 140 Since its formation the Blue Pilgrims use to celebrate after every match with Viking clap with the national team members 143 144 Fans of the India national team display the country s tricolour National flag and also wear blue jerseys in solidarity with the team They used to display their banner Blue Pilgrims along with Inquilab e Indian football Revolution of Indian football 135 136 145 and often shout their common slogan We love you wherever you go we follow 141 On 2 June 2018 the then captain Sunil Chhetri posted a video on social media In his video he urged the fans to come out at Mumbai to support the team after a poor crowd appearance of only 2569 at a match against Chinese Taipei in the 2018 Intercontinental Cup India achieved a massive victory in that match winning by 5 0 with Chhetri scoring a hat trick but there were very few people present to celebrate 146 147 Responding to the captain s call the Blue Pilgrims and football supporters including the fan clubs like Manjappada West Block Blues and East Bengal Ultras made sure that the stadiums were full during the next few matches 147 148 In the final of that tournament the Blue Pilgrims displayed a 30 ft 9 1 m tall 3D tifo of a Blue Tiger the first ever in the team s history 143 149 150 Media coverage Further information Media amp broadcasters India s competitive international games are covered on television by Star Sports and on its OTT service Hotstar 151 Prior to this deal the AIFF had struck a ten year deal with Zee Sports in 2006 to broadcast Indian national team s games on its channel with the initiative of Goal 2010 The aim of this whole exercise was to help India qualify for the 2010 World Cup 152 Results and fixturesMain articles India national football team results and India national football team results 2020 present The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months as well as any future matches that have been scheduled Win Draw Loss Fixture 2023 India nbsp v nbsp Mongolia 9 June 2023 2023 06 09 2023 Intercontinental CupIndia nbsp 2 0 nbsp MongoliaBhubaneswar India19 30 UTC 5 30 Samad nbsp 2 Chhangte nbsp 14 Report Stadium Kalinga Stadium Referee Songkran Bunmeekiart Thailand Vanuatu nbsp v nbsp India 12 June 2023 2023 06 12 2023 Intercontinental CupVanuatu nbsp 0 1 nbsp IndiaBhubaneswar India19 30 UTC 5 30 Report Chhetri nbsp 81 Stadium Kalinga Stadium Referee Virendha Rai Bhutan India nbsp v nbsp Lebanon 15 June 2023 2023 06 15 2023 Intercontinental CupIndia nbsp 0 0 nbsp LebanonBhubaneswar India19 30 UTC 5 30 Report Stadium Kalinga Stadium Referee Javiz Mohamed Maldives India nbsp v nbsp Lebanon 18 June 2023 2023 06 18 2023 Intercontinental Cup FinalIndia nbsp 2 0 nbsp LebanonBhubaneswar India19 30 UTC 5 30 Chhetri nbsp 46 Chhangte nbsp 65 Report Stadium Kalinga Stadium Attendance 12 600Referee Virendha Rai Bhutan India nbsp v nbsp Pakistan 21 June 2023 2023 06 21 2023 SAFF Championship GSIndia nbsp 4 0 nbsp PakistanBangalore India19 30 UTC 5 30 Chhetri nbsp 10 16 pen 74 pen Kumam nbsp 81 Report Stadium Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance 22 860Referee Prajwol Chhetri Nepal Nepal nbsp v nbsp India 24 June 2023 2023 06 24 2023 SAFF Championship GSNepal nbsp 0 2 nbsp IndiaBangalore India19 30 UTC 5 30 Report Chhetri nbsp 61 Naorem nbsp 70 Stadium Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance 12 642Referee Sinan Hussain Maldives India nbsp v nbsp Kuwait 27 June 2023 2023 06 27 2023 SAFF Championship GSIndia nbsp 1 1 nbsp KuwaitBangalore India19 30 UTC 5 30 Chhetri nbsp 45 2 Report A Ali nbsp 90 2 o g Stadium Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance 9 562Referee Md Alamgir Sarker Bangladesh Lebanon nbsp v nbsp India 1 July 2023 2023 07 01 2023 SAFF Championship SFLebanon nbsp 0 0 a e t 2 4 p nbsp IndiaBangalore India19 30 UTC 5 30 Report Stadium Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance 19 640Referee Sinan Hussain Maldives PenaltiesMaatouk nbsp Shour nbsp Sadek nbsp Bader nbsp nbsp Chhetri nbsp A Ali nbsp Naorem nbsp Kumam Kuwait nbsp v nbsp India 4 July 2023 2023 07 04 2023 SAFF Championship FinalKuwait nbsp 1 1 a e t 4 5 p nbsp IndiaBangalore India19 30 UTC 5 30 Al Khaldi nbsp 14 Report Chhangte nbsp 36 Stadium Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance 26 380Referee Prajwol Chhetri Nepal PenaltiesDaham nbsp Al Otaibi nbsp Al Dhefiri nbsp Naji nbsp Al Khaldi nbsp El Ebrahim nbsp nbsp Chhetri nbsp Jhingan nbsp Chhangte nbsp Kumam nbsp Bose nbsp Naorem Iraq nbsp v nbsp India 7 September 2023 2023 09 07 2023 King s Cup SFIraq nbsp 2 2 5 4 p nbsp IndiaChiang Mai Thailand16 00 UTC 5 30 Al Hamadi nbsp 28 pen Hussein nbsp 80 pen Report Naorem nbsp 16 Hassan nbsp 51 o g Stadium 700th Anniversary Stadium Attendance 2 884Referee Wiwat Jumpaoon Thailand PenaltiesDoski nbsp Adnan nbsp Ali nbsp Al Hamawi nbsp Resan nbsp nbsp Fernandes nbsp Jhingan nbsp Wangjam nbsp A Ali nbsp R Ali Lebanon nbsp v nbsp India 10 September 2023 2023 09 10 2023 King s Cup 3rdLebanon nbsp 1 0 nbsp IndiaChiang Mai Thailand16 00 UTC 5 30 Kassem nbsp 77 Report Stadium 700th Anniversary Stadium Attendance 13 567Referee Torpong Somsingha Thailand Malaysia nbsp v nbsp India 13 October 2023 2023 10 13 2023 Merdeka Tournament SFMalaysia nbsp 4 2 nbsp IndiaKuala Lumpur Malaysia18 30 UTC 5 30 Cools nbsp 7 Arif nbsp 20 pen Faisal nbsp 42 Corbin Ong nbsp 61 Report Naorem nbsp 13 Chhetri nbsp 51 Stadium Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance 46 150Referee Mongkolchai Pechsri Thailand Kuwait nbsp v nbsp India 16 November 2023 2023 11 16 2026 World Cup qualificationKuwait nbsp 0 1 nbsp IndiaKuwait City Kuwait19 30 UTC 3 Report M Singh nbsp 75 Stadium Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium Attendance 32 786Referee Shaun Evans Australia India nbsp v nbsp Qatar 21 November 2023 2023 11 21 2026 World Cup qualificationIndia nbsp 0 3 nbsp QatarBhubaneswar India19 00 UTC 5 30 Report Meshaal nbsp 4 Ali nbsp 47 Abdurisag nbsp 86 Stadium Kalinga Stadium Attendance 11 389Referee Sivakorn Pu udom Thailand 2024 Australia nbsp v nbsp India 13 January 2024 2024 01 13 2023 AFC Asian Cup GSAustralia nbsp 2 0 nbsp IndiaAl Rayyan Qatar14 30 UTC 3 Irvine nbsp 50 Bos nbsp 73 Report Stadium Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Attendance 35 253Referee Yoshimi Yamashita Japan India nbsp v nbsp Uzbekistan 18 January 2024 2024 01 18 2023 AFC Asian Cup GSIndia nbsp 0 3 nbsp UzbekistanAl Rayyan Qatar17 30 UTC 3 Report Fayzullaev nbsp 4 Sergeev nbsp 18 Nasrullev nbsp 45 4 Stadium Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Attendance 38 491Referee Fu Ming China Syria nbsp v nbsp India 23 January 2024 2024 01 23 2023 AFC Asian Cup GSSyria nbsp 1 0 nbsp IndiaAl Khor Qatar14 30 UTC 3 Khribin nbsp 76 Report Stadium Al Bayt Stadium Attendance 42 787Referee Sivakorn Pu udom Thailand Afghanistan nbsp v nbsp India 22 March 2024 2024 03 22 2026 World Cup qualificationAfghanistan nbsp 0 0 nbsp IndiaAbha Saudi Arabia22 00 UTC 3 Report Stadium Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City b Attendance 3 900Referee Kim Hee gon South Korea India nbsp v nbsp Afghanistan 26 March 2024 2024 03 26 2026 World Cup qualificationIndia nbsp 1 2 nbsp AfghanistanGuwahati India19 00 UTC 5 30 Chhetri nbsp 38 pen Report Akbari nbsp 70 Mukhammad nbsp 88 pen Stadium Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Attendance 8 932Referee Mohammed Al Hoish Saudi Arabia India nbsp v nbsp Kuwait 6 June 2024 2024 06 06 2026 World Cup qualificationIndia nbsp v nbsp KuwaitKolkata India19 00 UTC 5 30 Report Stadium Salt Lake Stadium Qatar nbsp v nbsp India 11 June 2024 2024 06 11 2026 World Cup qualificationQatar nbsp v nbsp IndiaAl Rayyan Qatar18 45 UTC 3 Report Stadium Ahmad bin Ali StadiumCoaching staffMain article List of India national football team managers nbsp Syed Abdul Rahim the most successful Indian coach for the national team nbsp Stephen Constantine in 2019 one of the most successful foreign coaches for the national team Coaching history Since India s independence there have been twenty nine different head coaches for the national team out of which eleven foreign The most successful head coach for India was Syed Abdul Rahim who led India to gold in both the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games while also achieving a fourth place finish during the 1956 Summer Olympics The most successful foreign head coaches for India were Bob Houghton and Stephen Constantine both of them helped the team to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup With Houghton in charge from 2006 to 2011 153 India won the Nehru Cup twice and the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 which allowed them to participate in their first AFC Asian Cup for 27 years 153 Since Houghton resigned as head coach in 2011 the Indian national team s FIFA ranking touched its lowest at 173 in the team history in March 2015 154 155 but Constantine who was appointed for the second time as the head coach of India 156 157 revived the Indian team from its meagre condition Under him the team remained unbeaten for two years from June 2016 to March 2018 winning 11 matches and drawn 2 matches 158 159 which helped them to qualify for 2019 AFC Asian Cup 8 years since Houghton left 160 He also helped the team to reach a better FIFA ranking of 96 in July 2017 which was the best in last 21 years 154 155 Present coaching staff Position Name Reference Head coach nbsp Igor Stimac 161 Assistant coaches nbsp Mahesh Gawli 162 nbsp Trevor Sinclair 163 Goalkeeping coach nbsp Frano Srdarev 164 Fitness coach nbsp Luka Radman 165 PlayersSee also List of India international footballers Current squad The following 25 players were called up for the two matches of Round 2 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification against Afghanistan 166 Caps and goals are correct as of 27 March 2024 after the match against nbsp Afghanistan No Pos Player Date of birth age Caps Goals Club 1 1 GK Gurpreet Singh Sandhu Vice Captain 1992 02 03 3 February 1992 age 32 70 0 nbsp Bengaluru 13 1 GK Vishal Kaith 1996 07 22 22 July 1996 age 27 4 0 nbsp Mohun Bagan 23 1 GK Amrinder Singh 1993 05 27 27 May 1993 age 30 13 0 nbsp Odisha 2 2 DF Rahul Bheke 1990 12 06 6 December 1990 age 33 27 1 nbsp Mumbai City 3 2 DF Subhasish Bose 1995 08 18 18 August 1995 age 28 38 0 nbsp Mohun Bagan 4 2 DF Anwar Ali 2000 08 28 28 August 2000 age 23 20 1 nbsp Mohun Bagan 6 2 DF Akash Mishra 2001 11 27 27 November 2001 age 22 26 0 nbsp Mumbai City 15 2 DF Mehtab Singh 1998 05 05 5 May 1998 age 26 9 0 nbsp Mumbai City 16 2 DF Jay Gupta 2001 09 27 27 September 2001 age 22 0 0 nbsp Goa 21 2 DF Nikhil Poojary 1995 09 03 3 September 1995 age 28 24 1 nbsp Bengaluru 22 2 DF Amey Ranawade 1998 03 07 7 March 1998 age 26 0 0 nbsp Odisha 4 3 MF Jeakson Singh Thounaojam 2001 06 21 21 June 2001 age 22 21 0 nbsp Kerala Blasters 7 3 MF Anirudh Thapa 1998 01 15 15 January 1998 age 26 55 4 nbsp Mohun Bagan 8 3 MF Suresh Singh Wangjam 2000 08 07 7 August 2000 age 23 23 1 nbsp Bengaluru 10 3 MF Brandon Fernandes 1994 09 20 20 September 1994 age 29 24 0 nbsp Goa 14 3 MF Naorem Mahesh Singh 1999 03 01 1 March 1999 age 25 19 3 nbsp East Bengal 18 3 MF Sahal Abdul Samad 1997 04 01 1 April 1997 age 27 35 3 nbsp Mohun Bagan 19 3 MF Lalengmawia Ralte 2000 10 17 17 October 2000 age 23 16 0 nbsp Mumbai City 22 3 MF Imran Khan 1995 03 01 1 March 1995 age 29 0 0 nbsp Jamshedpur 25 3 MF Deepak Tangri 1999 02 01 1 February 1999 age 25 4 0 nbsp Mohun Bagan 9 4 FW Manvir Singh 1995 11 07 7 November 1995 age 28 42 7 nbsp Mohun Bagan 11 4 FW Sunil Chhetri Captain 1984 08 03 3 August 1984 age 39 150 94 nbsp Bengaluru 12 4 FW Liston Colaco 1998 11 12 12 November 1998 age 25 28 0 nbsp Mohun Bagan 17 4 FW Lallianzuala Chhangte 1997 06 08 8 June 1997 age 26 34 7 nbsp Mumbai City 20 4 FW Vikram Partap Singh 2002 01 16 16 January 2002 age 22 5 0 nbsp Mumbai City Recent callups The following footballers were part of national selection in the past twelve months but are not part of the current call up Pos Player Date of birth age Caps Goals Club Latest call up GK Gurmeet Singh 1999 12 03 3 December 1999 age 24 0 0 nbsp NorthEast United 2023 King s Cup GK Phurba Lachenpa 1998 02 04 4 February 1998 age 26 0 0 nbsp Mumbai City NT Camp May 2023 DF Lalchungnunga 2000 12 25 25 December 2000 age 23 1 0 nbsp East Bengal 2023 AFC Asian Cup January 2024 DF Sandesh Jhingan 1993 07 21 21 July 1993 age 30 61 5 nbsp Goa 2023 AFC Asian Cup January 2024INJ DF Pritam Kotal 1993 09 08 8 September 1993 age 30 52 0 nbsp Kerala Blasters 2023 AFC Asian Cup January 2024 DF Naorem Roshan Singh 1999 02 02 2 February 1999 age 25 10 0 nbsp Bengaluru vs nbsp Qatar 21 November 2023 DF Asish Rai 1999 01 27 27 January 1999 age 25 1 0 nbsp Mohun Bagan 2023 King s Cup MF Rohit Kumar 1997 04 01 1 April 1997 age 27 13 0 nbsp Bengaluru vs nbsp Qatar 21 November 2023 MF Nandhakumar Sekar 1995 12 20 20 December 1995 age 28 3 0 nbsp East Bengal vs nbsp Kuwait 16 November 2023 MF Glan Martins 1994 07 01 1 July 1994 age 29 13 0 nbsp Mohun Bagan vs nbsp Kuwait 16 November 2023INJ MF Ashique Kuruniyan 1997 06 18 18 June 1997 age 26 34 2 nbsp Mohun Bagan 2023 King s CupINJ MF Rowllin Borges 1992 06 05 5 June 1992 age 31 35 2 nbsp Goa 2023 Intercontinental Cup FW Udanta Singh Kumam 1996 06 14 14 June 1996 age 27 48 2 nbsp Goa 2023 AFC Asian Cup January 2024 FW Rahul K P 2000 02 16 16 February 2000 age 24 6 0 nbsp Kerala Blasters 2023 AFC Asian Cup January 2024 FW Ishan Pandita 1998 05 26 26 May 1998 age 25 7 1 nbsp Kerala Blasters 2023 AFC Asian Cup January 2024 FW Rahim Ali 2000 04 21 21 April 2000 age 24 13 0 nbsp Chennaiyin 2023 King s Cup FW Sivasakthi Narayanan 2001 07 09 9 July 2001 age 22 0 0 nbsp Bengaluru NT Camp May 2023 RET Retired from the national team INJ Player injuries OTH Player withdrew from squad due to non injury issue Notable players See also Notable players and Player records nbsp Postage stamp issued in 1998 to honour Gostha Pal During the early 20th century India produced one of the best footballers from Asia at that time Gostha Pal Pal began playing professional football at the age of 16 in 1911 becoming India s first captain and was considered one of the best defenders India had ever produced He was also the first footballer to be awarded Padma Shree in the year 1962 167 and in 1998 the Government of India introduced a postal stamp in his honour 6 In the later 1930s players like R Lumsden Noor Mohammed T Rahim K Prosad A Nandi under the leadership of Karuna Bhattacharya played for India who scored a total of 56 goals in 17 matches during the 1938 Australia tour out of which 5 matches were against Australia where Lumsden scored the first international hat trick for India 168 9 nbsp Postage stamp issued in 2018 to honour Talimeren Ao India s first captain after the country gained independence was Dr Talimeren Ao At a very young age using footballs made out of rags Ao gradually improved his skills as a defensive midfielder He was given the responsibility of leading the team at the 1948 Olympics India s first major tournament 169 170 and also was the flag bearer of Indian contingents in London 171 Also during this era India produced Sailen Manna one of the country s best defenders 172 He was given the India captaincy in 1951 during the Asian Games led the team to the gold medal India s first major international honour 172 and also captained the team during the 1952 Olympics and 1954 Asian Games 172 In 1953 England Football Association rated Manna among 10 Best Skippers of the World in its yearbook 173 the Government of India awarded him Padma Shri in 1971 167 and AIFF honoured him as AIFF Player of the Millennium in 2000 172 During India s golden era between the 1950s and early 60s the country produced coveted strikers such as Sheoo Mewalal Neville D Souza Chuni Goswami Inder Singh and Tulsidas Balaram Mewalal was India s starting striker during the 1948 Olympics 1952 Olympics and 1951 Asian games where he ended as the tournament top goalscorer with four goals 174 175 Mewalal was the first Indian player to score a hat trick since the country gained independence when he scored it against Burma during the 1952 Colombo Cup 176 D Souza meanwhile became the first Asian player to score a hat trick at the Olympic Games 177 scoring a hat trick against Australia during the 1956 Olympics 178 D Souza also tied for top goalscorer in that edition of the Olympics which helped India reach the semi finals 179 Goswami represented India at the 1958 Asian Games and the 1960 Olympics and captained the side during the 1962 Asian Games and the 1964 Asian Cup 180 He was bestowed with Padma Shri by the Government of India and AFC honoured him as Best Striker of Asia in 1962 181 P K Banerjee a winger who represented India at the 1956 Olympics and later captained the side during the 1960 Olympics was named as the best Indian player of the 20th Century 182 Peter Thangaraj was the starting goalkeeper for India during the later stage of India s golden era being named as best Indian keeper of the 20th Century by IFFHS 182 P K Banerjee was honoured with Padma Shri by Government of India in 1990 and in 2004 FIFA bestowed him with FIFA Centennial Order of Merit Award the highest honour awarded by FIFA 183 From the 1970s to the 2000s India saw a decline in their results Despite the lack of tournament victories the country managed to produce players like Syed Nayeemuddin who led India to bronze at the 1970 Asian Games 184 During the 1990s I M Vijayan India s best player at the time was capped 66 times for India while scoring 29 goals and captaining the team several times 185 nbsp Sunil Chhetri celebrating after scoring a goal In 1995 Bhaichung Bhutia debuted for India With Bhutia India qualified for the AFC Asian Cup after a drought of 27 years 186 He was the captain of the team for over ten years 187 188 189 Considered one of the greatest footballers of India he is the second most capped player of India with 84 caps and scored 27 times for India He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008 167 and IFFHS listed him among the legendary players of football in 2016 190 Under Bhutia s captaincy Sunil Chhetri debuted for India who is now the only footballer in India s history to have played 100 international matches and is the all time highest goal scorer of India 191 192 Chhetri led the national team to many victories most importantly qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup and under his leadership the team achieved its highest FIFA ranking of 96 after twenty one years 154 155 His goal scoring ability and skills made him the only Indian striker to score four hat tricks for India 193 194 195 Sunil Chhetri is now the third highest international goalscorer among active players behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi 196 197 but fourth overall and is also the most capped player and the all time top goalscorer of the India national team 198 199 200 Competitive recordSee also India national football team records and statistics FIFA World Cup Main article India at the FIFA World Cup qualification India has never played in the finals of the FIFA World Cup 201 After gaining independence in 1947 India managed to qualify for the World Cup held in 1950 202 This was due to Myanmar Indonesia and the Philippines withdrawing from qualification round 201 However prior to the start of the tournament India themselves withdrew due to the expenses required in getting the team to Brazil 201 But this reason was untrue because FIFA was ready to give money to India AIFF for their trip to Brazil 203 Other reasons cited for why India withdrew include FIFA not allowing Indian players to play in the tournament barefoot and the All India Football Federation not considering the FIFA World Cup an important tournament compared to the Olympics but according to some pundits barefoot was a made up story manufactured by AIFF to stop people asking questions on why didn t India participate in the 1950 FIFA World Cup 204 201 AIFF did not have confidence in the Indian players then that they would compete in the World Cup against the world s top teams and win 205 After withdrawing from the 1950 FIFA World Cup India did not enter the qualifying rounds of the tournament between 1954 and 1982 206 Since the 1986 qualifiers with the exception of the 1990 edition of the tournament the team participated in World Cup qualification but has yet to qualify for the finals again 206 FIFA World Cup record Qualification record Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pos Pld W D L GF GA Ref nbsp 1930to nbsp 1938 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member nbsp 1950 Qualified but withdrew Qualified by default 207 nbsp 1954 Denied by FIFA Denied by FIFA 208 nbsp 1958to nbsp 1982 Did not enter Did not enter nbsp 1986 Did not qualify 6 2 3 1 7 6 209 nbsp 1990 Withdrew from qualification nbsp 1994 8 1 1 6 8 22 210 nbsp 1998 3 1 1 1 3 7 211 nbsp nbsp 2002 6 3 2 1 11 5 212 nbsp 2006 6 1 1 4 2 18 213 nbsp 2010 2 0 1 1 3 6 214 nbsp 2014 2 0 1 1 2 5 215 nbsp 2018 8 2 1 7 7 18 216 nbsp 2022 8 1 4 3 6 7 217 nbsp nbsp nbsp 2026 To be determined 4 1 1 2 2 5 nbsp nbsp nbsp 2030 To be determined nbsp 2034 Total 0 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 12 16 27 51 99 AFC Asian Cup Main article India at the AFC Asian Cup nbsp Indian players celebrating with fans after winning a match at 2019 AFC Asian Cup India has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup five times The team played their first Asian Cup in 1964 The team managed to qualify following other nations refusal to play against India due to political reasons 218 219 India managed to finish the tournament as runners up to hosts Israel with Inder Singh finishing as joint top scorer 219 Since then India has failed to progress beyond the first round of the Asian Cup with their participation at the 1984 220 and 2011 Asian Cups 221 and most recently the 2019 Asian Cup 80 In June 2022 India qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup after winning all the matches in the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification This is the first time ever India qualified consecutively for the continental championship 90 AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Ref nbsp 1956 Did not enter Did not enter nbsp 1960 Did not qualify 6 2 0 4 7 9 222 nbsp 1964 Runners up 2nd 3 2 0 1 5 3 Squad Qualified by default 223 nbsp 1968 Did not qualify 3 0 1 2 2 6 224 nbsp 1972 Did not enter Did not enter nbsp 1976 nbsp 1980 nbsp 1984 Group stage 10th 4 0 1 3 0 7 Squad 4 3 0 1 8 2 225 nbsp 1988 Did not qualify 5 0 1 4 0 6 226 nbsp 1992 2 1 0 1 2 3 227 nbsp 1996 2 0 0 2 3 12 228 nbsp 2000 4 1 1 2 8 9 229 nbsp 2004 2 0 1 1 1 3 230 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 2007 6 0 0 6 2 24 231 nbsp 2011 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 3 13 Squad AFC Challenge Cup 232 nbsp 2015 Did not qualify 233 nbsp 2019 Group stage 17th 3 1 0 2 4 4 Squad 18 8 2 8 25 24 234 nbsp 2023 Group stage 24th 3 0 0 3 0 6 Squad 11 4 4 3 14 8 235 nbsp 2027 To be determined 4 1 1 2 2 5 Totals Runners up 2nd 16 3 1 12 12 33 67 20 12 35 75 111 Summer Olympics Main article India national football team at the Olympics nbsp Talimeren Ao on the left leading the Indian team to Cricklefield Stadium to play against France in 1948 India competed in four straight Olympic football tournaments between 1948 and 1960 236 Their sole 1948 Olympics match against France was also India s first ever international match since the country gained independence in 1947 10 During the match a majority of the Indian side played barefoot 10 The match ended in a 2 1 defeat with Sarangapani Raman scoring the lone goal for India 10 India then returned to the Olympics four years later where they took on Yugoslavia in the preliminary rounds The team suffered a 10 1 defeat India s largest margin of defeat in a competitive match and were knocked out 237 Four years later during the 1956 Olympics India managed to reach the semi finals and finish fourth After India s first round opponents Hungary withdrew from the tournament the team played against hosts Australia in the quarter finals A Neville D Souza hat trick the first by an Asian footballer in the Olympics helped India win 4 2 238 However in the semi finals India once again suffered defeat against Yugoslavia going down 4 1 In the bronze medal match India were defeated 3 0 by Bulgaria 238 In 1960 India competed in Group D with Hungary France and Peru India ended the group in last place drawing once 239 India have since failed to qualify for another Olympic games Summer Olympics record Qualification record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Ref nbsp 1908 to nbsp 1936 Did not enter Did not enter nbsp 1948 Round 1 11th 1 0 0 1 1 2 Squad Qualified automatically 240 nbsp 1952 Preliminaries 25th 1 0 0 1 1 10 Squad Qualified automatically 241 nbsp 1956 Semi finals 4th 3 1 0 2 5 9 Squad Bye 242 nbsp 1960 Round 1 13th 3 0 1 2 3 6 Squad 3 3 0 0 11 4 243 nbsp 1964 to nbsp 1988 Did not qualify 20 6 1 13 34 38 nbsp 1992 present See India national U 23 team See India national U 23 team Totals Semi finals 4th 8 1 1 6 10 27 23 9 1 13 45 42 Asian Games Main article India national football team at the Asian Games nbsp Indian team celebrating after defeating South Korea in the final of 1962 Asiad at Senayan Main Stadium Jakarta India competed in eleven Asian Games starting from 1951 to 1998 except the 1990 and 1994 editions 244 In 1951 Asian Games India won their first match against Indonesia in the first round and then defeated Japan in semi final and went on to win against Iran in the final in front of the home crowd The achievement of the Indian team was a special one as they became the first ever Asian Games gold medalists in football and also the first ever Asian football champions as well 245 246 Though the next two tournaments proved to be less successful for the team but they bounced back by winning the gold at the 1962 Asian games by defeating the Asian Cup winners South Korea in the final to win their second continental title The team failed to defend their title in 1966 and went on to claim the bronze medal in 1970 247 This was the last time India ever finished on the medal podium the next years proved to be hard for the Indian team to regain their dominance as the side went through a sharp decline 248 After two disappointing editions in 1974 and 1978 India performed much better in the 1982 Asiad which they hosted for the second time by reaching the quarter finals but lost to Saudi Arabia Due to the poor performance in 1986 Asian Games the authorities decided not to send the team for the upcoming games 249 The team made their return in 1998 Asian Games record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Ref nbsp 1951 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 7 0 Squad 250 nbsp 1954 Round 1 8th 2 1 0 1 3 6 Squad 251 nbsp 1958 Semi finals 4th 5 2 0 3 12 13 Squad 252 nbsp 1962 Champions 1st 5 4 0 1 11 6 Squad 253 nbsp 1966 Round 1 8th 3 1 0 2 4 7 Squad 254 nbsp 1970 Third Place 3rd 6 3 1 2 8 5 Squad 255 nbsp 1974 Round 1 13th 3 0 0 3 2 14 Squad 256 nbsp 1978 Round 2 8th 5 1 0 4 5 13 Squad 257 nbsp 1982 Quarter finals 6th 4 2 1 1 5 3 Squad 258 nbsp 1986 Round 1 16th 3 0 0 3 1 8 Squad 259 nbsp 1990 did not enter nbsp 1994 did not enter nbsp 1998 Round 2 16th 5 1 0 4 3 8 Squad 260 nbsp 2002 present See India national U 23 team Totals 2 Titles 1st 44 18 2 24 61 83 SAFF Championship India has played in all editions of the SAFF Championship except in 2009 when they sent under 23 team and has been the most successful team in the competition winning an overall eight titles 261 The team played in the knockout stage of every tournament except in 1993 when the tournament was in a league format 262 The team also boasts a prestigious record of claiming medal at every championships played so far 263 India has played in the final of every championship except the 2003 tournament where they claimed bronze medal for the first time 264 265 SAFF Championship record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Ref nbsp 1993 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 4 1 266 nbsp 1995 Runners up 2nd 3 0 2 1 2 3 Squad 267 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. | ||||||||||