England overwhelm Spain to win the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India [Post #177]

[kaayal]

I have been to 2 Bayern Munchen bundesliga matches in Allianz Arena (sitting in the Upper and middle tier respectively) and a few ISL matches in Kochi before. But I could closely witness the real beauty of passing football only yesterday with Spain Vs Brazil match in Kochi....

Their accuracy and speed in passing football, controlling the ball, long crosses are something which made me even wonder that whether this was actually an U17 match or not. Spain played brilliantly in the 1st 10minutes and later brazil owned them. They tried to come back in the second half but were unable to score a goal.

The crowd was very sporting. Even though the stadium was an yellow sea they did appreciate the good moves from both the teams. The brazil players were cheering us before and after the match like their home ground. I wish some played for us Kerala blasters in ISL...

The second match was very boring tbh. (Niger Vs Korea). Might be because they didn't keep up with the pace and expectations with which the 1st game has given us.

Cons-
Not enough food and water inside the stadium. They were oly 4 foodstalls for the entire 22 000 people and even there they were selling water for 100rps and that was finished within the first half of 1st match. Note that we were sitting there in open stadium for nearly 7hours without eating anything.

Seating capacity rule ruined the Kochi crowd.As per FIFA regulations, in case of an emergency the stadium should be evacuated within eight minutes. Most Indian stadiums do not meet this standard. Because of this they sold only few tickets for the matches here.

Humidity was way too much and the players were suffering from dehydration. They had several muscle cramps.

Still, the matches was excellent. Worth or more than my 150rps + metro train ticket + our petrol expenses of travelling from North kerala to Kochi.

 

[kaayal]

He is not wrong saying Nobody cares about football outside few states. In Bombay, nobody would even know that India is hosting WC(tbh i didnt knew until i came across this thread, same goes with most of the NRIs here). Until India achieve significantly in soccer arena, masses will not give a damn about it. FYI, Kerala doesnt represent the Rest of India, just saying.

Before defending your friend, you could have cared to read his post. He didn't say that bolded part. I was just correcting that these "few state" does care about football.

And FYI, India is not only about Bombay. We the people of kerala, North East, Bengal, Goa and Bangalore have as much right on India as you guys do.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Before defending your friend, you could have cared to read his post. He didn't say that bolded part. I was just correcting that these "few state" does care about football.

And FYI, India is not only about Bombay. We the people of kerala, North East, Bengal, Goa and Bangalore have as much right on India as you guys do.

North East, Bengal, Goa, Kerala, and Banglore are indeed football fans, however like i said they still dont make up even quarter of Indian population. In other words, football is absoulte no comparion to cricket never was and never will.

 

[kaayal]

North East, Bengal, Goa, Kerala, and Banglore are indeed football fans, however like i said they still dont make up even quarter of Indian population. In other words, football is absoulte no comparion to cricket never was and never will.

Arrey bhai, i never said Indian football fans outnumber the Indian cricket fans. Never will, infact many of us football fans also support our Indian cricket team to death when they play here.. But we do love our football enough to pack up a stadium to 70 000 to 80 000 in ISL matches.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Arrey bhai, i never said Indian football fans outnumber the Indian cricket fans. Never will, infact many of us football fans also support our Indian cricket team to death when they play here.. But we do love our football enough to pack up a stadium to 70 000 to 80 000 in ISL matches.

Ive few Keralan co workers here and they do seem more inclined towards soccer than cricket. Maybe its a norm in Kerala?

 

[kaayal]

Ive few Keralan co workers here and they do seem more inclined towards soccer than cricket. Maybe its a norm in Kerala?

Malabar area specifically. I can say about my home, we started watching Euro cup, FIFA WC matches, Premier league matches etc from an youger age itself because of our parents who are hard core Football fans. They do watch cricket WC, India Pak matches and India Aus matches but football is the only thing which mostly runs in our TV.The fact that they last only 90minutes also helps us compared to cricket which ruins the whole day or days (50 over and tests). And also we have a long history of "Sevens football" which is played only in Kerala.

During the 2002 Fifa WC in Japan Korea, there was a big crowd in my home to watch every match of the tournament because of less number of TV with Dish antenna connection showing Stars Sports in my Village. Nowadays, the local clubs shows the game in a Projector with all the facilities. They have improved a lot...

Depending on the majority fans, you can see the Cut out of star football players Messi, Ronaldo and the flags of Brazil, Argentina, Spain, England, Germany , Italy and Portugal in every bus stops of Malappuram districts during the FIFA WC.There was victory celebrarions from brazil fans, Italy fans, spain fans and the Germany fans after every WC final. Even though the rest of the world doesn't care about us, we love these football teams dearly.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Malabar area specifically. I can say about my home, we started watching Euro cup, FIFA WC matches, Premier league matches etc from an youger age itself because of our parents who are hard core Football fans. They do watch cricket WC, India Pak matches and India Aus matches but football is the only thing which mostly runs in our TV.The fact that they last only 90minutes also helps us compared to cricket which ruins the whole day or days (50 over and tests). And also we have a long history of "Sevens football" which is played only in Kerala.

During the 2002 Fifa WC in Japan Korea, there was a big crowd in my home to watch every match of the tournament because of less number of TV with Dish antenna connection showing Stars Sports in my Village. Nowadays, the local clubs shows the game in a Projector with all the facilities. They have improved a lot...

Depending on the majority fans, you can see the Cut out of star football players Messi, Ronaldo and the flags of Brazil, Argentina, Spain, England, Germany , Italy and Portugal in every bus stops of Malappuram districts during the FIFA WC.There was victory celebrarions from brazil fans, Italy fans, spain fans and the Germany fans after every WC final. Even though the rest of the world doesn't care about us, we love these football teams dearly.

Thats what i thought. Im not questioning your guys love for Football in general, however you guys are more of a football fan in general than Indian football fan. Tbh the only reason India is even playing this WC is because they are host otherwise not in million years we would qualify for even U17 WC. Talent maybe there but due to absence of infrastructure, talent is not being converted into performance.

Anyways coming back to your state, have Kerala able to produce quality football players for India? I know Kerala hasnt produce any cricketer(s) except for dancing queen but i was wondering if they are producing footballers

 

[kaayal]

Thats what i thought. Im not questioning your guys love for Football in general, however you guys are more of a football fan in general than Indian football fan. Tbh the only reason India is even playing this WC is because they are host otherwise not in million years we would qualify for even U17 WC. Talent maybe there but due to absence of infrastructure, talent is not being converted into performance.

Anyways coming back to your state, have Kerala able to produce quality football players for India? I know Kerala hasnt produce any cricketer(s) except for dancing queen but i was wondering if they are producing footballers

Have you forgotten IM Vijayan, the black pearl of India along with Bhaichung Bhutia who were the best India could ever produce back then? Then there is Sathyan, CV Pappachan, NP Pradeep who were the former Indian football team Captains. Add to that Jopol Anchery, Asif Saheer who were some of our best players.

Nowadays there is CK Vineeth, Anas Edathodika, Rino Anto etc playing for our national side. Even in this FIFA U17 WC, we have one malayali representation- Rahul Praveen.

In cricket apart from that rotlu sreeshanth, we have sanju samson.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Have you forgotten IM Vijayan, the black pearl of India along with Bhaichung Bhutia who were the best India could ever produce back then? Then there is Sathyan, CV Pappachan, NP Pradeep who were the former Indian football team Captains. Add to that Jopol Anchery, Asif Saheer who were some of our best players.

Nowadays there is CK Vineeth, Anas Edathodika, Rino Anto etc playing for our national side. Even in this FIFA U17 WC, we have one malayali representation- Rahul Praveen.

In cricket apart from that rotlu sreeshanth, we have sanju samson.

Tbh my knowledge in Indian football is very limited, apart from Bhutia i have never heard any of those other names. Good to know that Kerala is churning out good number of footballers, you guys must have better infrastructure than other states.

Sanju Samson career seem in danger with the emergence of R Pant. Overall its good for India to have competition for spot, that will push player beyond their limit.

 

[kaayal]

Tbh my knowledge in Indian football is very limited, apart from Bhutia i have never heard any of those other names. Good to know that Kerala is churning out good number of footballers, you guys must have better infrastructure than other states.

Sanju Samson career seem in danger with the emergence of R Pant. Overall its good for India to have competition for spot, that will push player beyond their limit.

ISL have rejuvenated our passion for football. Sachin (our pearl) brought us our own football club -Kerala Blasters FC and we have a football academy too. Cheering for our own team wearing that yellow jersey along with 70 000-80 000 fans is a different experience.

This FIFA WC improved our infrastructure and stadium a little bit but still there is a lot of work to do.

 

[kaayal]

ISL have rejuvenated our passion for football. Sachin (our pearl) brought us our own football club -Kerala Blasters FC and we have a football academy too. Cheering for our own team wearing that yellow jersey along with 70 000-80 000 fans is a different experience.

This FIFA WC improved our infrastructure and stadium a little bit but still there is a lot of work to do.

pls ignore my grammar mistakes.

 

[kaayal]

Yesterday's Brazil Vs Spain match highlights. [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] look at the crowd cheering. This is only 1/4th of our ISL crowd because of the fifa restrictions.

And our little attempt of forming a mexican wave.

 

[hafeezrocks]

Yesterday's Brazil Vs Spain match highlights. [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] look at the crowd cheering. This is only 1/4th of our ISL crowd because of the fifa restrictions.

And our little attempt of forming a mexican wave.

But Brother [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] was telling that nobody cares about Football in India, which even the media reports of low attendance of the Indian match suggested. I'm shocked.

Why would people of any Indian City attend match between two neutral sides of an Under 17 WC? This isn't even a Senior Side FIFA WC.

 

[kaayal]

But Brother [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] was telling that nobody cares about Football in India, which even the media reports of low attendance of the Indian match suggested. I'm shocked.

Why would people of any Indian City attend match between two neutral sides of an Under 17 WC? This isn't even a Senior Side FIFA WC.

I don't know about Varun but all the tickets for the 8 matches of Under17WC in Kochi are sold out. I will have to buy in black which was costing 2500 rupees instead of the actual 150rps yesterday.

Tbh, yesterday's crowd was just because of brazil and spain. If Argentina comes and play here they will also have the same support. The second match of Niger Vs Korea didn't have this much crowd. Not to mention thir game was not upto the level of the first one. Rest i have explained in Post no #86.

 

[Varun]

[MENTION=133135]kaayal[/MENTION] - I don't understand fan dynamics, not being a fan of the sport myself, but I'm confused as to why people wouldn't turn up to watch India play when the tickets were at rock bottom prices, if not free, but throng to watch other teams play.

Of course, it might have something to do with Delhi vs Kochi too.

 

[cr7great]

football is not much popular in delhi, haryana, up
and india matches is being held in delhi

 

[Specialisttailender]

[MENTION=133135]kaayal[/MENTION] - I don't understand fan dynamics, not being a fan of the sport myself, but I'm confused as to why people wouldn't turn up to watch India play when the tickets were at rock bottom prices, if not free, but throng to watch other teams play.

Of course, it might have something to do with Delhi vs Kochi too.

Spain vs Brazil gets attention because of their name and reputation and people want to see the next superstar in action. Second the true football fans know that India is due for a humiliation loss, but thankfully it didn't happen. Football was popular than Cricket and Hockey in Tamil Nadu during the 60s.

 

[Specialisttailender]

I don't know about Varun but all the tickets for the 8 matches of Under17WC in Kochi are sold out. I will have to buy in black which was costing 2500 rupees instead of the actual 150rps yesterday.

Tbh, yesterday's crowd was just because of brazil and spain. If Argentina comes and play here they will also have the same support. The second match of Niger Vs Korea didn't have this much crowd. Not to mention thir game was not upto the level of the first one. Rest i have explained in Post no #86.

Chennai would have pulled a large crowd as well. Shame its not hosting any matches.

 

[kaayal]

[MENTION=133135]kaayal[/MENTION] - I don't understand fan dynamics, not being a fan of the sport myself, but I'm confused as to why people wouldn't turn up to watch India play when the tickets were at rock bottom prices, if not free, but throng to watch other teams play.

Of course, it might have something to do with Delhi vs Kochi too.

It's not that bad tbh. There were 46 300 something spectators for India Vs USA match. But yeah, they could have made it more considering their seating capacity(60 000) and availability of tickets.

They could have scheduled an India match here in Kochi. We spectators would have been the 12th man for the team. It's sad that every match of us is scheduled in Delhi.

 

[kaayal]

Chennai would have pulled a large crowd as well. Shame its not hosting any matches.

You guys are inclined more to cricket and have your fair share of games there. Let the rest of us have these football matches.

 

[Varun]

Spain vs Brazil gets attention because of their name and reputation and people want to see the next superstar in action. Second the true football fans know that India is due for a humiliation loss, but thankfully it didn't happen. Football was popular than Cricket and Hockey in Tamil Nadu during the 60s.

So losing 3-0 to another team is not considered a humiliation?

Not being snappy, just curious.

 

[kaayal]

So losing 3-0 to another team is not considered a humiliation?

Not being snappy, just curious.

Not a humiliation but we expected the worst. India did create many chances and impressed us with their skills. Our lack of experience comes out despite creating some brilliant chances. Add to that luck factor where the ball hits the goal post whenever we charged in.

Even the USA coach praised the brilliant efforts of our goal keeper and the 2 defenders. Otherwise the result would have been much worse.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Not a humiliation but we expected the worst. India did create many chances and impressed us with their skills. Our lack of experience comes out despite creating some brilliant chances. Add to that luck factor where the ball hits the goal post whenever we charged in.

Even the USA coach praised the brilliant efforts of our goal keeper and the 2 defenders. Otherwise the result would have been much worse.

So you’re happy with moral victory

Indian football is easily 30-40 years behind Korea/Japan, and im not even comparing Latin American/ European teams. Lack of funds will make it even harder to catch up( which will never happen in our life time).

 

[kaayal]

So you’re happy with moral victory

Indian football is easily 30-40 years behind Korea/Japan, and im not even comparing Latin American/ European teams. Lack of funds will make it even harder to catch up( which will never happen in our life time).

Not happy because we could have converted some chances into goal.

Well, we are already in the bottom so there is nothing to lose. But after the first game, i expect some fight from them against colombia today.

 

[Madplayer]

Football is getting very popular in Kashmir too. Mehraj udin wadoo even captained mohan bagan if i remember correctly. And also Ishfaq ahmad.

 

[kaayal]

Football is getting very popular in Kashmir too. Mehraj udin wadoo even captained mohan bagan if i remember correctly. And also Ishfaq ahmad.

Are you refering to this guy?



He was in our Kerala team last year. Good player and assistant coach too. Will miss him.

 

[Madplayer]

Are you refering to this guy?

View attachment 76739

He was in our Kerala team last year. Good player and assistant coach too. Will miss him.

Yes. A very good player and quite popular in Kashmir. A good ambassador of the state.

 

[kaayal]

Yes. A very good player and quite popular in Kashmir. A good ambassador of the state.

Our aashaan(master/former coach) Steve Coppell whom we loved dearly took our bunch of good players (including Ishfaq, mehtab, belfort) and flied on to Jemshedpur FC.

 

[jusarrived]

So you’re happy with moral victory

Indian football is easily 30-40 years behind Korea/Japan, and im not even comparing Latin American/ European teams. Lack of funds will make it even harder to catch up( which will never happen in our life time).

Trust me its possible to bridge that gap in 15-20 years . At the age group level we are pretty close to these teams .

U-16 team for eg , Iraq are the current Asian champions and we drew our last match in this years qualifiers and beating Qatar and Palestine convincingly , ensured our qualification for finals . We have been pretty competitive at this level for few years now . So its only about developing these talents , I know easier said than done but we do have a better road map for these guys now . Things will start changing for good in next few years .

The national team is on the verge of qualifying for AFC championship finals as well , thats just the second time ever we would be playing in the finals .

The likes of Abhishek yadav , Komal Thatal , Nirmal chetri ( unfortunatley injured for this WC ) , Naorem
Abhijit Sarkar are a class above the the talents we have produced in the past . There is a much bigger base of very good young players to feed the national team now, unlike in the past where we had 1-2 decent to good players .
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu ( first Indian to play for European top division league ) , Lalhlimpuia , Udanta singh , Ralte etc couple of names in the national team who are at par or pretty close to Asian standards . We should have a solid team in 5-6 years time .

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

We should have a solid team in 5-6 years time .

This 5-6 years time will come after 50-60 years. We are talking about football and india in a single sentence here.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Football is getting very popular in Kashmir too. Mehraj udin wadoo even captained mohan bagan if i remember correctly. And also Ishfaq ahmad.

Bhai Mohan Bagan hai Manchester United nahi. News tab hogi jab Man Utd ka captain bane.

 

[Specialisttailender]

So losing 3-0 to another team is not considered a humiliation?

Not being snappy, just curious.

LOL losing 3-0 to US is very good performance, look where we are ranked in the world.How many people do you know that even played organized football ? I was expecting 6-0 to 8-0 loss. I was glad when I found out that we didn't end up in the same group as Brazil or Germany for example. U-17 Football in states is not taken seriously, most players come through division 1 college/universities. This is a good effort bro. Our players looked like erratic monkeys when they started acting like Ishant Sharma every time a goal was scored on them, our goalie was punching the ground at one point like a mad man. Other than the mental break down, we did very well. Cricket is played by very small samples, Football is throught out the world bro, this is a huge leap for us. We need our government and sponsors to help Football grow like Afghan cricket.

 

[Specialisttailender]

You guys are inclined more to cricket and have your fair share of games there. Let the rest of us have these football matches.

I'm a very distant to Chennai, I can't handle Chennai, people are rude and stupid. But I'm sure many will attend to watch a Football World Cup. We like spectacles ; ).

 

[Madplayer]

Bhai Mohan Bagan hai Manchester United nahi. News tab hogi jab Man Utd ka captain bane.

Usme 4 5 sou saal lag jayenge bhai. Hopefully

 

[hafeezrocks]

Trust me its possible to bridge that gap in 15-20 years . At the age group level we are pretty close to these teams .

U-16 team for eg , Iraq are the current Asian champions and we drew our last match in this years qualifiers and beating Qatar and Palestine convincingly , ensured our qualification for finals . We have been pretty competitive at this level for few years now . So its only about developing these talents , I know easier said than done but we do have a better road map for these guys now . Things will start changing for good in next few years .

The national team is on the verge of qualifying for AFC championship finals as well , thats just the second time ever we would be playing in the finals .

The likes of Abhishek yadav , Komal Thatal , Nirmal chetri ( unfortunatley injured for this WC ) , Naorem
Abhijit Sarkar are a class above the the talents we have produced in the past . There is a much bigger base of very good young players to feed the national team now, unlike in the past where we had 1-2 decent to good players .
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu ( first Indian to play for European top division league ) , Lalhlimpuia , Udanta singh , Ralte etc couple of names in the national team who are at par or pretty close to Asian standards . We should have a solid team in 5-6 years time .

That's because AFC has increased the number of teams participating in the tournament from 16 to 24 and not because India has suddenly started beating the other Asian giants.

 

[jusarrived]

That's because AFC has increased the number of teams participating in the tournament from 16 to 24 and not because India has suddenly started beating the other Asian giants.

The national team is no where close to the best in Asia so am not saying its a big achivement, they are much better than they where 4-5 years back when we lost to the likes of HK , Mal and Singapore and now we beat them convincingly so there is some improvement . Even though we are FIFA ranked around 100 , I think we are probably around ~120 . if AFC had kept the participant teams at 16 I think we are some where close to top 16-18 in Asia , so we may have still made it . Anyway I wudnt really care about the national teams result at this point , the qualification ensures more exposure to our youngsters against big teams .

 

[jusarrived]

Whats with our luck ?
second time hitting the cross bar in two games

 

[jusarrived]

0-0 at HT against Columbia, but had 2 clear chances .

 

[jusarrived]

This 5-6 years time will come after 50-60 years. We are talking about football and india in a single sentence here.

I dint say we will win the world cup , when I say solid team I mean competitive against the likes of Jpn , Iran and Korea .

 

[jusarrived]

At the end of first half , India produced better chances than Columbia and thats something . The nerves seems to have eased and they look more composed . They may still lose 0-4 in the end , but enough positives already

 

[Varun]

So what kind of a team are Columbia? They're from South America so I take it that they're really good?

 

[kaayal]

Oh no

 

[jusarrived]

Oh no

How did they concede ? I cam not getting the stream . At work

 

[jusarrived]

Again just cant finish it off

 

[jusarrived]

Goallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

 

[jusarrived]

I cant belive it

Wuhuuuuuuuuu

 

[jusarrived]

lol we concede the next minute

 

[jusarrived]

1-2 5 mins to go . Can we get one more ?

 

[kaayal]

lol we concede the next minute

They could have atleast waited for 5 minutes to enjoy our goal.

 

[jusarrived]

They could have atleast waited for 5 minutes to enjoy our goal.

Such a soft goal that .
They have played some quality football though .

 

[kaayal]

Wow what a throw by our goal keeper.

 

[kaayal]

Such a soft goal that .
They have played some quality football though .

True beautiful goal.

 

[kaayal]

And it's over. 2:1

 

[jusarrived]

And it's over. 2:1

it could have easily been a win for us , unlike last match we played at the same level as Columbia . Anyway we have our first ever Goal in this tournament and thats history made . Proud of them .

 

[kaayal]

it could have easily been a win for us , unlike last match we played at the same level as Columbia . Anyway we have our first ever Goal in this tournament and thats history made . Proud of them .

We didn't have any luck. That hurts most tbh...

But still proud of our team. They did work hard to come up to this level and compete with a good team like columbia.

 

[cr7great]

we should have won this match

 

[kaayal]

it could have easily been a win for us , unlike last match we played at the same level as Columbia . Anyway we have our first ever Goal in this tournament and thats history made . Proud of them .

They got disheartened after that 2nd goal. That was a complete shock...

 

[jusarrived]

We didn't have any luck. That hurts most tbh...

But still proud of our team. They did work hard to come up to this level and compete with a good team like columbia.

Yup teams like ours deserve a bit of luck . Lets go get Ghana now

 

[jusarrived]

So anyone still thinks am deluded when I say we can get close the best in Asia in 5-6 years ?
This lot and few who are in 18-20 age group who are equally good will make core of the national team in near future .

 

[kaayal]

Yup teams like ours deserve a bit of luck . Lets go get Ghana now

Are we out of the tournament now? How is ghana fairing in the group?

 

[jusarrived]

Are we out of the tournament now?

Not if we beat Ghana .

 

[kaayal]

Not if we beat Ghana .

Alhamdulillah....

 

[jusarrived]

So what kind of a team are Columbia? They're from South America so I take it that they're really good?

Ranked 10th in the world , rankings apart they are very good better than any Asian Team at the moment

 

[CanadianG00se]

Trust me its possible to bridge that gap in 15-20 years . At the age group level we are pretty close to these teams .

U-16 team for eg , Iraq are the current Asian champions and we drew our last match in this years qualifiers and beating Qatar and Palestine convincingly , ensured our qualification for finals . We have been pretty competitive at this level for few years now . So its only about developing these talents , I know easier said than done but we do have a better road map for these guys now . Things will start changing for good in next few years .

The national team is on the verge of qualifying for AFC championship finals as well , thats just the second time ever we would be playing in the finals .

The likes of Abhishek yadav , Komal Thatal , Nirmal chetri ( unfortunatley injured for this WC ) , Naorem
Abhijit Sarkar are a class above the the talents we have produced in the past . There is a much bigger base of very good young players to feed the national team now, unlike in the past where we had 1-2 decent to good players .
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu ( first Indian to play for European top division league ) , Lalhlimpuia , Udanta singh , Ralte etc couple of names in the national team who are at par or pretty close to Asian standards . We should have a solid team in 5-6 years time .

I admire your optimism but you’re far from reality. Just because we drew woth U16 Iraqi team doesnt say much. Iraq is war torn country much like Afghanistan and have very limited infrastructure. However, they are very much soccer crazy nation for very long time and kids play soccer on street very much like us play cricket. There team in soccer is very comparable to Afghanistan U19 in cricket. Both have beastly age limit teams however when it comes to regular game they are nowhere near the champion team. Due to lack of infrastructure in both the nations, they lose out on talent and/or arent capable to shape the young kids to their full potential. This is why country like Germany will dominate soccer world because they have world’s best infrastructure for grooming kids.

When i said we’re 30-40 years behind country like Japan and Korea, i wasnt implying soccer rankings, i was implying the soccer infrastructure in our country. If you really think India will suddenly catch up to Japan and Korea in next 15-20 years despite pretty much non existent infrastructure nationwide(except few states) then my friend you’re either delusional or just being overy optimistic or perhaps both.

China on the other hand despite investing billions of dollars every year, they are still far behind Korea and Japan and you expect India to overtake them in next 20 years? Unless all of a sudden majority of Indians gives up on cricket and become soccer crazy and India’s corporate world starts pouring in billions to promote the game, I just dont see India ever reaching to Fifa WC even with 48 teams tournament. We’re to soccer what Namibia is to cricket.

 

[Sidilicious]

So anyone still thinks am deluded when I say we can get close the best in Asia in 5-6 years ?
This lot and few who are in 18-20 age group who are equally good will make core of the national team in near future .

5-6 years is too short. Kids in Europe and South America really develop their game after their teens. The coaching and facilities is incomparable.

My prediction is that in 15 years we will be in the top few in Asia, at lest get to semis in the Asian cup and qualify for the WC in 20 years.

Need at least 2 more generations of football players after this (1 generation = 1 decade) and continuous investment in football as we are doing.

 

[jusarrived]

I admire your optimism but you’re far from reality. Just because we drew woth U16 Iraqi team doesnt say much. Iraq is war torn country much like Afghanistan and have very limited infrastructure. However, they are very much soccer crazy nation for very long time and kids play soccer on street very much like us play cricket. There team in soccer is very comparable to Afghanistan U19 in cricket. Both have beastly age limit teams however when it comes to regular game they are nowhere near the champion team. Due to lack of infrastructure in both the nations, they lose out on talent and/or arent capable to shape the young kids to their full potential. This is why country like Germany will dominate soccer world because they have world’s best infrastructure for grooming kids.

When i said we’re 30-40 years behind country like Japan and Korea, i wasnt implying soccer rankings, i was implying the soccer infrastructure in our country. If you really think India will suddenly catch up to Japan and Korea in next 15-20 years despite pretty much non existent infrastructure nationwide(except few states) then my friend you’re either delusional or just being overy optimistic or perhaps both.

China on the other hand despite investing billions of dollars every year, they are still far behind Korea and Japan and you expect India to overtake them in next 20 years? Unless all of a sudden majority of Indians gives up on cricket and become soccer crazy and India’s corporate world starts pouring in billions to promote the game, I just dont see India ever reaching to Fifa WC even with 48 teams tournament. We’re to soccer what Namibia is to cricket.

See the point is simple , at U-16 level we are producing talents at par with the best be it Iraq , Iran or Korea while its a given that the these countries are far better placed to develop these kids things are changing in Indian football too . Iraq won the Asian championships few years back in spite of lack of facilities and I see no reason we cant do that in 15 years . Am pretty sure we have more resources than countries like North Korea , Iraq , Sirya , Uzbekistan etc which are ahead of us now . None of these countries have a massive football infrastructure , you gave china's example . Thats precisely my point , these things dont mean much. In 20 years we can be behind Korea and Japan and still be among the best in in Asia .

As for money , I dont think its ever going to be a problem just need a few good results you will see money coming in .

 

[jusarrived]

5-6 years is too short. Kids in Europe and South America really develop their game after their teens. The coaching and facilities is incomparable.

My prediction is that in 15 years we will be in the top few in Asia, at lest get to semis in the Asian cup and qualify for the WC in 20 years.

Need at least 2 more generations of football players after this (1 generation = 1 decade) and continuous investment in football as we are doing.

5-6 years I was saying we would be in Top 8-10

 

[zizour]

So anyone still thinks am deluded when I say we can get close the best in Asia in 5-6 years ?
This lot and few who are in 18-20 age group who are equally good will make core of the national team in near future .

5-6 years is a bit optimistic to reach the top levels in Asia. Teams like Australia,Iran, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia are good teams. It will take a sustained effort from us right from grassroots to senior level to reach the level of these teams.

I agree with you that this bunch and AIFF have put in a very good concerted effort to play at this level not just as mere hosts, but also as if we belong to this level. That is the most heartening thing here and I am extremely proud of that.

If this same effort continues rather than wane off, we might then look at challenging the cream of Asia maybe in 10-15 years time. But the key here is to continue the fine work that we have been doing. There have been many false dawns in Indian football. For changes we need to play more friendlies at the senior level with the top teams in Asia (for that our ranking has to improve). This u-17 batch got to play at this level by playing atleast 100 matches in the last 3 years. There is no substitute for actual playing experience,you get to know the opposition and you overcome your fears. Secondly I think we need to move out of the SAFF region and get into the central asian or ASEAN regional tournaments,in the long run it is going to benefit us.

Football does not have to be as popular as cricket here, I do not think that should be our goal,rather we need a dedicated grass roots program at various age groups which would eventually feed the senior team. Case in point is the United States football team. Soccer as it is known there is not most popular sport,but the US have been to all WC's since 1990 and for the past 2 WC's have reached the knock outs. So there is a blue print there for us to follow and do well.

 

[TM Riddle]

Bhai Mohan Bagan hai Manchester United nahi. News tab hogi jab Man Utd ka captain bane.

Kashmir hai Kent nahin.
Any news of little achievements coming from that state should be celebrated.

 

[Specialisttailender]

5-6 years I was saying we would be in Top 8-10

In 15 to 20 years we should threaten Saudi, Qatar and Iran. We don't even see kids in street play football. It will take time before we become anything respectable. In Canada, every kid plays Football but still in 90th something rank even with first class training center and a MLS team. We are going to have difficult time bringing top players to compete with each other constantly, and ISL happening once a year is not enough. We should develop training center in North West Indian states where they actually have Football culture, followed by Major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkotta, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Goa and etc.

 

[jusarrived]

5-6 years is a bit optimistic to reach the top levels in Asia. Teams like Australia,Iran, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia are good teams. It will take a sustained effort from us right from grassroots to senior level to reach the level of these teams.

I agree with you that this bunch and AIFF have put in a very good concerted effort to play at this level not just as mere hosts, but also as if we belong to this level. That is the most heartening thing here and I am extremely proud of that.

If this same effort continues rather than wane off, we might then look at challenging the cream of Asia maybe in 10-15 years time. But the key here is to continue the fine work that we have been doing. There have been many false dawns in Indian football. For changes we need to play more friendlies at the senior level with the top teams in Asia (for that our ranking has to improve). This u-17 batch got to play at this level by playing atleast 100 matches in the last 3 years. There is no substitute for actual playing experience,you get to know the opposition and you overcome your fears. Secondly I think we need to move out of the SAFF region and get into the central asian or ASEAN regional tournaments,in the long run it is going to benefit us.

Football does not have to be as popular as cricket here, I do not think that should be our goal,rather we need a dedicated grass roots program at various age groups which would eventually feed the senior team. Case in point is the United States football team. Soccer as it is known there is not most popular sport,but the US have been to all WC's since 1990 and for the past 2 WC's have reached the knock outs. So there is a blue print there for us to follow and do well.

I follow the age group football in Asia pretty closely , we have been competitive at this level for a few years now though current batch is by far the best . While its not necessary this will naturally translate into national teams performance , it is a big factor imo . Syria which just missed out a WC qualification has lost 3 of the 5 matches against India , all in the last 10 years and in 3-4 years they are a league above us which is all required to be among top 5-6 teams in Asia . if you check between 2008-14 they made all 5 Asian cup QF's and semis of 2014 edition .I dont know what changed for them , but I bet a lot of current national team players come those u-17 teams . so its not unrealistic to think the same cant happen for Indian football in 5-6 years , am sure we have better resources than a war torn Syria ?

The facilities , exposure trips are all fine but will mean very little without producing talents . The reason am excited is we are producing talent at a time where there is more money in the game , there is more awareness about the sport and more following than ever before .

I agree on playing more friendlies , I think there was a phase of 3-4 years when India played just one international match in 90s or 2000s . Thats simply not done . Things have changed for good now , only thing is we need more matches against teams ranked under 70 now .

 

[jusarrived]

Last match against Ghana , we beat them 2-0 we have a chance .

 

[troodon]

Looks like our Football team has lots of North East people. They have very strong legs.

 

[kaayal]

Good goal from Ghana.

 

[troodon]

Can't believe I am trying to follow a football match

 

[troodon]

Just like Women's cricket, you need some success to get people's attention and the investment to pour in.

If India beats Ghana, it will do wonders for the game of football in India. Otherwise, it will be a Cricket country forever.

Too bad, Ghana just scored a GOAL!!!!

 

[jusarrived]

With that goal its over for us .
Just go out and have some fun now , may not get an opportunity to play at this level again .

 

[jusarrived]

Just like Women's cricket, you need some success to get people's attention and the investment to pour in.

If India beats Ghana, it will do wonders for the game of football in India. Otherwise, it will be a Cricket country forever.

Too bad, Ghana just scored a GOAL!!!!

Beating them was always difficult and there is pressure of winning by a 2 goal margin .our best chance was the Columbia game .
I think they made the best start of the three games . A draw would be an amazing result .

 

[kaayal]

2nd goal from Ghana....

 

[jusarrived]

This could get ugly