Dishing out an impressive show on debut, forward Lhingdeikim struck four goals in Indian women team’s comprehensive 11-1 win over Maldives in its second FIFA friendly contest in Bengaluru Thursday. In the first match, the hosts had thrashed the rivals 14-0. Lhingdeikim (12th, 16th, 56th and 59th) scored two goals in each half whereas the other debutant in the contest, Nongmeikapam Sibani Devi, scored once (45 1) in the extra time of the first half. The others who scored in the contest were Kajol D’Souza (15th), Pooja (41st), Simran Gurung (62nd, 68th) and Khumukcham Bhumika Devi (71st).

Mariyam Rifa scored the only goal for Maldives in the 27th minute but an own goal from the visitors’ skipper Hawwa Haneefa in the 17th added to India’s tally.

India coach Joakim Alexandersson had announced six changes for this contest in whch Lhingdeikim and Sibani Devi made their debuts in the starting eleven whereas Ribansi Jamu, Thingbaijam Sanjita Devi, Juhi Singh, Monisha Singha, Bhumika Devi and Gurung made their debuts off the bench.

India were ahead 6-1 in the first half after goalkeeper Linthoingambi Devi had to make a couple of regulation saves early on. The team founds its going soon and was up by four goals in the first 17 minutes.

Lhingdeikim scored the first goal with a right-footed drive from inside the box. She soon turned provider, setting up Kajol (15th).

Lhingdeikim debutant scored her second goal a minute later after being assisted by Sibani. Haneefa’s own goal in the 17th minute added to India’s tally as India captain Sangita Basfore’s header deflected off her feet and into the goal.

In the 27th minute, Rifa made the most of a defensive error to pull one back for her side but Pooja (41st) and Sibani added one each minutes before the half time.

Lhingdeikim began the scoring in the second half with a fine finish in the 56th minute with the help of Pooja, and netted her fourth goal of the match close to the hour mark.

Substitute Simran (62nd, 68th) added two more goals after replacing Basfore at half-time.

Maldives were reduced to 10 players for the last 20 minutes after Maeesha Abdul Hannan was sent off for a deliberate hand-ball inside the penalty box.

Bhumika Devi converted the penalty to complete a 11-1 win for India.

India was on Sunday drawn in a tricky group along with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore for the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers final round matches, beginning March 25 next year. The draw, which saw 24 teams divided into six groups of four, was held at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Only the six group winners will qualify for the main tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027 and join the 18 teams who have already booked their tickets after the second round of qualifying.

The final round will be contested over six match days in a home-and-away format between March 25, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

Aiming to qualify for the third successive time, India will begin its Group C campaign at home against Bangladesh.

India is the highest-ranked team in the group at 127, followed by Hong Kong (156), Singapore (161) and Bangladesh (185). But, they won’t be easy opponents.

India has faced all three opponents in the recent past. The Blue Tigers last faced Bangladesh (1-1 draw) in the 2021 SAFF Championship, Hong Kong (India won 4-0) in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata in June 2022, and Singapore (1-1 draw) in the Hung Thinh Friendly Tournament in Vietnam in September 2022.

After the draw, India head coach Manolo Marquez said, “We are a Pot 1 team and we need to show why we are the favourites to qualify. There are not too many differences between groups. Every group is difficult.

“Hong Kong has improved a lot with naturalised players and with their coach Ashley Westwood.

“We will play against Bangladesh first in March, who have been our regular opponents in the SAFF Championship. We know the calendar. We have six games and we need to top the group and qualify for the Asian Cup.” India’s fixtures: March 25, 2025: India vs Bangladesh (home) June 10, 2025: Hong Kong vs India (away) October 9, 2025: India vs Singapore (home) October 14, 2025: Singapore vs India (away) November 18, 2025: Bangladesh vs India (away) March 31, 2026: India vs Hong Kong (home).

India are all set to make their debut in the FIFAe World Cup 2024 featuring eFootball, which will be held between December 9 and December 12 at the SEF Arena, Boulevard Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. The World Cup, which will be held as part of the FIFAe Finals 2024 in Riyadh, will feature competitions on both console and mobile platforms. Chinmay Sahoo, Ibrahim Gulrez, and Saksham Rattan will represent India in FIFAe World Cup (Console), while Danial Shakeel Patel will be the eTigers’ sole representative in FIFAe World Cup (Mobile).

The domestic qualifiers for the FIFAe World Cup were held in October, with participants from across the country fighting it out across three rounds of in-game events. The top eligible athletes from the FIFAe Ranking list based on the online qualifier results were invited for online trials, based on which the squad was selected.

India have been drawn in Group A in both the Console and Mobile events.

They will face Korea Republic, Spain, and France on December 9, and Poland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and England on December 10, in the Console event.

In the Mobile event, the eTigers will face England, Japan, Indonesia, and Spain on December 9, and Korea Republic, Costa Rica, and Brazil on December 10. For both versions of the game, the quarterfinals and semi-finals will be held on December 11, and the final on December 12.

The FIFAe World Cup Console matches will be played in a 2v2 format using the eFootball 2025 game on PC, using PlayStation 5 controllers, while the FIFAe World Cup Mobile matches will be played using the same game on Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G phone.

The group stage and quarterfinal matches of India will be streamed live on the official Indian Football channels on YouTube and Twitch).

FIFAe World Cup featuring eFootball Console fixtures:

December 9:

3 pm IST: India vs Korea Republic

3.30 pm IST: Spain vs India

4.30 pm IST: India vs France

December 10:

3 pm IST: Poland vs India

3.30 pm IST: India vs Malaysia

4 pm IST: Netherlands vs India

4.45 pm IST: India vs Indonesia

5.15 pm IST: England vs India

December 11: Quarter-finals and semi-finals

December 12: Final

FIFAe World Cup featuring eFootball Mobile fixtures:

December 9:

8.45 pm IST: India vs England

9 pm IST: Japan vs India

9.15 pm IST: Indonesia vs India

9.30 pm IST: Spain vs India

December 10:

10.15 pm IST: India vs Korea Republic

10.30pm IST: India vs Costa Rica

10.45 pm IST: Brazil vs India

December 11: Quarter-finals and semi-finals

December 12: Final.

India can break into the top-50 in the FIFA rankings, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday, according to a release issued by All India Football Federation (AIFF). The top brass of the AIFF, including its president Kalyan Chaubey, met Mandaviya on Thursday to brief him on the existing AIFF-FIFA Academy in Odisha and the plan to build additional four such facilities in different zones. “An elaborate plan has to be chalked out and put in place for execution so that India can reach a FIFA ranking below 50 in the next ten years,” Mandaviya was quoted as saying in the AIFF release.

“India boasts one of the largest pools of young talent globally. The focus should be on grassroots, talent identification. They should be nurtured along with coach development which will be pivotal for the sports growth.” The FIFA rankings began in 1992 and the Indian men’s football team’s best ranking has been 94, achieved in February 1996. The team has broken into the top-100 on a very few occasions.

In the latest FIFA chart issued on Thursday, the Indian football team is ranked 127th, two spots down from the earlier October list. Japan, Iran, Korea and Australia, the regular Asian countries in the World Cup, are ranked at 15th, 18th, 23rd and 26th respectively in the latest rankings.

After the meeting, which also discussed the importance of coach development, the minister assured the AIFF of all possible support for the development of the sport in India.

“Rapid economic growth and an expanding middle class are reshaping attitudes towards sports. Parents are now encouraging children to balance academics with sports unlike earlier times,” the minister pointed out.

“The Government is committed to providing comprehensive support for sports development in India. Initiatives like new training centres and partnerships with international bodies will drive progress.” Chaubey said the AIFF has presented a detailed plan to Mandaviya.

“Given the size and population of a vast country like India, one AIFF-FIFA academy in Odisha is not enough. So, we proposed to have four more regional academies with the same technical supports from FIFA.” “Presently in India, there are 25 fully professional clubs in the ISL and the I-League. In addition to that, there are 80 AIFF-accredited academies, all these teams are having under-13 age group category teams, the details have been presented to the ministry.” FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) Project Director Ged Roddy, who is currently on a visit to India, was also present at the meeting, along with AIFF Secretary General Anilkumar.

The AIFF-FIFA Academy was launched in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, after a visit of world renowned coach Arsene Wenger, who is the FIFA Chief of Global Football Development.

The academy currently has 32 cadets. Roddy, FIFA TDS project director, is presently on a visit to India to review the project.

File photo of Indian football team.© X/@IndianFootball

India crashed out of the SAFF Women’s Championship as they lost to Nepal 2-4 in penalty shootout in the semifinal match marred by utter confusion after the home side held up play for more than one hour in protest against a decision of the referee in Kathmandu on Sunday. Nepal will play Bangladesh in the final. In the first semifinal, Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 7-1. Played in front of a packed house at the Dasharath Stadium, the shoot-out was applied after the full-time ended in a 1-1 draw in a match that witnessed more drama off the pitch than inside.

In fact, when the shoot-out ended, the total duration of the match was nearly three hours since the start.

India took the lead in the 62nd minute through Sangita Basfore’s brilliant shot from well outside the box.

Nepal then scored but the goal was denied by the referee. After that, the match was held up for more than 70 minutes as Nepal refused to continue, protesting the referee’s decision.

The scene on the pitch during this period was of utter confusion with some histrionics displayed by a section of the players and officials, mostly from the home side, according to a release from the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Referee Om Choki from Bhutan waited patiently for more than an hour and after a lot of discussion between the supervising officials and the Nepal side, the match resumed.

The long wait and absolute confusion, apparently hampered the rhythm and concentration of the Indians.

Seconds after the match resumed, Nepal equalised through Sabitra Bhandari that ultimately proved crucial in stretching the game beyond 90 minutes.

In the tie-breaker, Nepal managed to convert all four of their attempts, while only Manisha and Karishma Shirvoikar could find the target for India. Skipper Ashalata Devi and Ranjana Chanu were the two who missed for the Blue Tigresses.

The trouble began early in the second half when Nepal striker Rekha Poudel was given the marching orders for her second yellow card offence in the 51st minute.

“As the Nepal players vehemently protested the referee’s decision, the tension generated in the stands forced the assistant referee from the opposite line to abandon her post and take momentary refuge on the other side,” the AIFF said.

“It took around 12 minutes for the match to be resumed. The situation, however, went berserk and totally out of hand after India took the lead. As the Indian players went near the bench to celebrate the goal, Nepal did the ‘restart’ and put the ball into an open Indian net,” the AIFF said.

The referee didn’t allow the “goal” and it turned out to be the bone of contention.

“While the spectators displayed their unhappiness, the Nepal players and officials decided to troop out of the pitch. It took the organisers and the supervising officials more than an hour to sort out the problem.

“India, who were enjoying a good day in the office till then, were left as confused as anyone else at the Dasharath Stadium. Once the match resumed, the Blue Tigresses were never in their usual self again.”

File photo of Indian football team.© X/@IndianFootball

Defending champions India defeated Bangladesh by a solitary goal in SAFF U17 Championship.© X/@IndianFootball

File image of Igor Stimac© X (Twitter)

File photo of Igor Stimac.© AFP