Nepal is not going to be easy and they are not going to be hard, like @indian_gooner said they tricky opponents, need to be careful. We need to see who our new coach selects and how is he going to go about with the team.A win is always good for us but a loss would just demolish many hearts (lets not go there). Let us just take step by step. I hope he chooses some consistant players as he had some time to watch some i-league games and might have got a few names from our beloved Savio, which is going to be very useful.
Constantine: 'India and Nepal are quite evenly matched' The Indian national coach has revealed that Nepal will be tough opponents owing to significant improvement, states the importance of making home legs count... By Nikhil Jitendran 11-Feb-2015 08:38:00 Close as countries they maybe, the bonhomie between Indian and Nepal will be put to one side between the 12 th and 17 th of March, 2015 as the Blue Tigers and Gorkhalis , who arch South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) rivals, will battle it out for a berth among the 34 other teams from Asia for a berth in the group stages of the qualification process, for the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in Russia. As Goal explained, India’s low ranking amongst the Asian Football Confederations (AFC) section of the official FIFA rankings table has forced them to play a pre-qualifier, as the lowest 16 ranked teams in the continent battle it out for 8 spots amongst the other teams for the FIFA World Cup spot. Now, the newly instated Indian national team coach Stephan Constantine, has expressed enthusiasm at facing his former team in Nepal with whom he shares fond memories. He revealed however, that all friendliness will be put to one side and believes the fixture will decided on who makes home advantage count the most. This will also mark the first game the British-Cypriot coach will take charge of in his second spell of the Blue Tigers and when he was asked his opinion of the draw, the 53 year-old expounded, “I think it's going to be a very difficult draw for both teams. India haven't done very well in the past few years, and Nepal have made good strides forward, so it will be difficult. At this point in time, there isn't a favourite, both teams are quite evenly matched and it will depend on who can make the home advantage count. We have the first leg at home, that's always nice,” to FIFA.com. Having received a medal from the then King of Nepal, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, for his excellent work with the Nepalese football team, Constantine acknowledged that whilst he still has a special place in his heart for the mountain Kingdom, he will put it all aside as he faces them in a World Cup qualifier. "Nepal has a very special place in my heart as we had a good two years there. The recognition I received from His majesty and everybody else was unbelievable. But this is business. I'm going back to win a game,” expressed the former Millwall assistant manager. Expediting the urgency and need to capture the Blue Tigers ’ glory, Constantine added, "It's an absolute must for India to win this game, and that's what we'll try and do. With Nepal you can expect that they will fight for every minute of every game, they don't know when to quit. We're going to need to be at our very best to beat a Nepal side, who will push and press you. Both games will be very difficult." India’s preparation for the Gorkhali ’s visit to home soil will begin with Constantine’s first ever training camp in his second spell beginning 4th March. What will add more pressure on the coach will be the fact that teams doing well in the qualification process from the AFC stage will get automatic qualification for the AFC’s Asian Cup, to be held in 2019. “Everything now is geared towards this first game. We need to make sure we pick the right players, in the right positions and the right style of how we want to play," elucidated the record breaking Rwanda coach. Finally, asked to pick his other stand-out tie amongst the participant teams, Constantine concluded by pointing out, "I think Yemen against Pakistan will be a very lively game. Both are good sides in this region. You would expect Sri Lanka to get through against Bhutan, but I'm just looking at our own game at the moment!"
Do we even have a practice game before this important fixture? He says that he needs to make sure that he picks the right players, in the right positions and the right style of how he wants them to play. Is he going to experient this against Nepal or will AIFF organize some friendlies against local clubs or some team?
AFC 2018 World Cup / 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying Round 1 Ties to be played Thursday 12 March & Tuesday 17 March: India v Nepal Yemen v Pakistan Timor-Leste v Mongolia Cambodia v Macau Chinese Taipei v Brunei Darussalam Sri Lanka v Bhutan
@rohan India is not arsenal who can beat Nepal during their sleep ...we got a new coach who still don't know who is the right player at right position ...at least India should play practice match against India u 23 team if not international friendlies...
Comments
evenly matched'
The Indian national coach has revealed that Nepal will be
tough opponents owing to significant improvement, states
the importance of making home legs count...
By Nikhil Jitendran
11-Feb-2015 08:38:00
Close as countries they maybe,
the bonhomie between Indian
and Nepal will be put to one
side between the 12 th and
17 th of March, 2015 as the
Blue Tigers and Gorkhalis , who
arch South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) rivals, will
battle it out for a berth among the 34 other teams from
Asia for a berth in the group stages of the qualification
process, for the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in
Russia.
As Goal explained, India’s low ranking amongst the Asian
Football Confederations (AFC) section of the official FIFA
rankings table has forced them to play a pre-qualifier, as
the lowest 16 ranked teams in the continent battle it out
for 8 spots amongst the other teams for the FIFA World
Cup spot.
Now, the newly instated Indian national team coach
Stephan Constantine, has expressed enthusiasm at facing
his former team in Nepal with whom he shares fond
memories. He revealed however, that all friendliness will
be put to one side and believes the fixture will decided on
who makes home advantage count the most.
This will also mark the first game the British-Cypriot
coach will take charge of in his second spell of the Blue
Tigers and when he was asked his opinion of the draw,
the 53 year-old expounded, “I think it's going to be a very
difficult draw for both teams. India haven't done very well
in the past few years, and Nepal have made good strides
forward, so it will be difficult. At this point in time, there
isn't a favourite, both teams are quite evenly matched and
it will depend on who can make the home advantage
count. We have the first leg at home, that's always nice,”
to FIFA.com.
Having received a medal from the then King of Nepal,
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, for his excellent work with
the Nepalese football team, Constantine acknowledged
that whilst he still has a special place in his heart for the
mountain Kingdom, he will put it all aside as he faces
them in a World Cup qualifier.
"Nepal has a very special place in my heart as we had a
good two years there. The recognition I received from His
majesty and everybody else was unbelievable. But this is
business. I'm going back to win a game,” expressed the
former Millwall assistant manager.
Expediting the urgency and need to capture the Blue
Tigers ’ glory, Constantine added, "It's an absolute must
for India to win this game, and that's what we'll try and
do. With Nepal you can expect that they will fight for every
minute of every game, they don't know when to quit.
We're going to need to be at our very best to beat a
Nepal side, who will push and press you. Both games will
be very difficult."
India’s preparation for the Gorkhali ’s visit to home soil
will begin with Constantine’s first ever training camp in his
second spell beginning 4th March. What will add more
pressure on the coach will be the fact that teams doing
well in the qualification process from the AFC stage will
get automatic qualification for the AFC’s Asian Cup, to be
held in 2019.
“Everything now is geared towards this first game. We
need to make sure we pick the right players, in the right
positions and the right style of how we want to play,"
elucidated the record breaking Rwanda coach.
Finally, asked to pick his other stand-out tie amongst the
participant teams, Constantine concluded by pointing out,
"I think Yemen against Pakistan will be a very lively game.
Both are good sides in this region. You would expect Sri
Lanka to get through against Bhutan, but I'm just looking
at our own game at the moment!"
Round 1
Ties to be played Thursday 12 March & Tuesday 17
March:
India v Nepal
Yemen v Pakistan
Timor-Leste v Mongolia
Cambodia v Macau
Chinese Taipei v Brunei Darussalam
Sri Lanka v Bhutan
India is not arsenal who can beat Nepal during their sleep ...we got a new coach who still don't know who is the right player at right position ...at least India should play practice match against India u 23 team if not international friendlies...