Indian football team's focus is on the AFC Asian Cup 2019: Stephen Constantine

New Delhi: India has just retained the 100th spot in the recently updated FIFA Rankings, and India coach Stephen Constantine seems confident of the upcoming couple of matches later this month.

India play Nepal in a friendly match at Mumbai on Tuesday June 6, 2017, after which they play against Kyrgyzstan in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 Qualifiers in Bengaluru. 

Clearly, the India coach has set his sights on that tournament. When asked about their challenges ahead, he said, “As far as they want. I think the nucleus of this team is there for the next 4-5 years and right now we are focusing on the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 which is on the top of our priority list.”

However, the Blue Tigers' head coach is not taking Kyrgyzstan lightly.

“They have some very good players and are very well organised. You think of the belt they are coming from and their neighbouring countries – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan – you will understand that they are all very capable players. They will be very difficult and we expect very difficult games, both at home and away,” he said.

Despite achieving the 100th rank, Constantine feels that his team has some more work to do.

“In the larger scheme of things we have not achieved anything. After our International Friendly against Nepal, we play against Kyrgyz Republic and they are a very dangerous and difficult opponent,” he said