With a bit of hard work and a bit of luck, we can reach the knockout stage, says Bhaichung Bhutia
Indian footballing legend Bhaichung Bhutia has said that Sunil Chhetri’s side have an outside chance of making it to the knockout stage at next year’s AFC Asian Cup which will be played in UAE. The Indian national team have been clubbed with Thailand, Bahrain and hosts UAE in Group A.
After the Indian team confirmed their place in the AFC Asian Cup, which will be played in January 2019, the first question that was on everybody's lips was whether they could stamp their authority on the tournament. The last time they played in the AFC Cup was back in 2011 and back then they suffered humiliating losses in the Group of Death that consisted of Australia, Bahrain and South Korea.
But Bhaichung Bhutia has backed his teammates to do good at the tournament next year. Bhutia reckoned that if the team work hard and if lady luck is on their side they might make it to the knockout stages.
"I feel that we can finish among the top two from our group and qualify to the round of 16. I understand it's not that easy but it's also not impossible. With a fair deal of hard work and a bit of luck, we can achieve it," Bhutia told www.the-aiff.com on Tuesday.
Bhutia, who was part of the 2011 squad that played in the prestigious tournament has added that that the current crop of players are in better shape and form as compared to the previous squad.
"In international football nothing is easy. But in comparison to the group in Doha 2011 where we were clubbed with the then World Cuppers Australia and the Korea Republic, this looks good, or should I say favourable.
"Not to forget that the other team in our group in 2011 was Bahrain, and they had played the World Cup play-offs from Asia too (for World Cup South Africa 2010)," he added.
Indian football has made some significant strides since 2011, with the Indian Super League overtaking the I-league as the most elite national tournament of the country. Bhutia added that India needed to consistently qualify for the AFC in the coming years if they wanted to aim for bigger things in the future.
"It's very important for Indian football to qualify for the Asian Cup on a regular basis. It is the biggest tournament for us - the Continental Championship. That's the platform where we get to play against the best Asian players who play all over the world. Such tournaments come as a learning curve and is a huge publicity for Indian football," Bhutia said.