Afghanistan — beating the odds, both on and off the field

In the last three months, Ashley Westwood, who came in at a delicate moment as coach, and his team convinced several players to reverse their boycott and the results are there for everyone to see

Stimac’s men, ranked 41 placed above, had six points for the taking. “I hope for a good result for Afghanistan but to be honest, I expect India to win. Most of the players in the national team are not in their best shape compared to the Indian team, who are at the end of their season. They are more fit and strong. I expect India to win both matches,” he said earlier.

Now with four points and placed third in the group, Afghanistan has given itself a realistic chance of reaching the third round of the qualifiers. The quick turnaround must be credited to

Westwood and his work behind the scenes. Senior player Haroon Amiri heaped praise on the Englishman, who previously coached Bengaluru FC and ATK, stating that he came in at the ‘lowest point in Afghanistan football’.

“I didn’t get an opportunity to thank him. He came at such short notice and took over the national team when we were not in a good situation. So I want to thank him and his staff. What he did for us in this short period is unbelievable. I don’t think without you, we [this group of players] will be here,” said Amiri, with Westwood sat next to him.

Amiri, who played his last game for Afghanistan on Tuesday, was a key figure in assisting Westwood to bring together this squad before the qualifiers against India.

“We had to build this team from zero. All the boys boycotted the national team. We had to work hard to bring the players back. We played with the local boys against Qatar and Kuwait but now we have some good players back. We had to manage flight tickets and hotel bookings for several players before the national camp,” Amiri pointed out.

Westwood had previously never undertaken an assignment of this nature where he had to juggle coaching duties and logistical challenges in forming a group of players, required to play at the highest level.

“It’s been an incredible amount of work,” explained Westwood. “I had the help of Amiri, my assistant Matt Holland and physio Scott Tomkins. We are relying

ANI