Playing top Asian sides key for India: Chhetri
N. Korea turn to Kim as coach
MUMBAI, Dec 12, (Agencies): India must have regular competition against the continent’s top sides if they are to have any hope of taking their game to another level, captain Sunil Chhetri has said ahead of next month’s Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Since their last appearance at the finals in Qatar in 2011, India have played twice against a top-six Asian side when they were grouped with Iran for the Russia World Cup qualifiers.
Chhetri, who will lead India in just their fourth appearance at the finals, said they had to be given the chance to stretch themselves more.
“It’s very, very important for us to keep playing against the big giants – the UAEs, the Australias, the Korea Republics,” Chhetri told FIFA.com.
“It’s one thing to do well against your neighbours, and without demeaning any one of them, it’s a different thing when you go out and play the giants of Asia.” Cricket-loving India has a population of 1.3 billion but it is a massive underachiever as far as football is concerned. The national side is 97th in the FIFA rankings and yet to make an appearance at the World Cup finals.
The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) decision to increase the number of finalists at the Asian Cup to 24 teams from 16 has helped the country return to the tournament.
“I was really dejected when we missed out on the last edition,” Chhetri said of the 2015 tournament in Australia.
“I think it’s very, very important for a country like us to keep qualifying for this big tournament, because that tells you where you are and if you’re doing well.
“It also gives you a chance to rub shoulders with the biggest teams in Asia. If you do well, other teams take notice of you.” India, managed by English coach Stephen Constantine, are in Group A alongside hosts United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Thailand for the Jan 5-Feb 1 tournament and Chhetri is under no illusions about the task facing them.
“Without putting ourselves down, when you’re India and you qualify for the Asian Cup any team that you face are going to be difficult,” said Chhetri, India’s record scorer with 65 goals and their most experienced player with 103 caps.
“In UAE and Thailand we have two teams who are very, very technically gifted. I think even Bahrain are going to be very physical.
“I’m just looking at it as one game at a time. I don’t think we will be thinking about the mathematics of the group from the moment go.” Meanwhile North Korea have named one of their own citizens to manage its football team, state media said Wednesday, more than six months after the departure his Norwegian predecessor.
Kim Yong Jun, a 35-year-old retired midfielder, will take the side to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the North’s official KCNA news agency said.
His appointment came after Norwegian ex-striker Jorn Andersen did not extend his two-year contract with the isolated country, which is under multiple sanctions over its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes.
As a player Kim helped the North qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup before becoming coach to a Pyongyang team.
North Korea are currently ranked 109th in the world. Chinese football players take part in a training session as the team prepares for the 2019 edition of the AFC Asian cup in Haikou in China’s southern Hainan province on Dec
12. (AFP) poor sports infrastructure in the region but former long-distance runner Kralev said it was an achievable target.
“Our bid is completely realistic, we are aware that we have to meet a number of FIFA criteria,” the 51-year-old Kralev told Reuters. “Let us remind you that Russia also began building the necessary sports infrastructure after being named hosts of the 2018 World Cup.”
The Balkan quartet will also bid to host the European championship in 2028, hoping that would give them a chance to improve or build new stadiums. Kralev said that Greece had already announced it would modernize its Olympic Stadium while Serbia planned to build a new 60,000-capacity stadium.