Indian football: 7 instances of success in recent times
Even though India are ranked as low as 163rd in the latest FIFA rankings, Thursday’s 1-0 win at Vientiane in the first leg of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers meant the Blue Tigers broke a 15-year old jinx of recording an away in the qualifiers.
Let us look at the success stories and achievements of the Indian football team and players in the last year or two. Do not hesitate to share your views in comments or bring up some other moments that you can think of since the year 2015 in Indian football.
Seven Wonderful moments for Indian football in recent times:
#1 India won the SAFF Championship in 2015 for the record seventh time
Sunil Chhetri scored an extra-time winner in the final as India got revenge against the defending champions Afghanistan by beating them 2-1 in Kerala. In this process, India, who are the only team win the SAFF Championship on multiple occasions, lifted the trophy for a record seventh time and after a gap of four years. Afghanistan had beaten India in the 2013 final in Kathmandu 2-0, whereas India had thrashed Afghanistan 4-0 in the 2011 SAFF Championship final in New Delhi.
Jeje equalized for India in the second half, just two minutes after Afghanistan took the lead. However, the Blue Tigers, who were underdogs for this match made sure that Afghanistan, playing for the last time in this tournament, were not getting their hands on the SAFF Championship this time around.