If anyone was asked to predict the result when Iran take on India on Thursday night, almost everyone would favour the home side. Iran are currently ranked 44 in the FIFA Rankings while India are way down in 160th place - 116 places away.
To make matters worse, the Blue Tigers are without a number of key players, especially in attack. Three Indians have scored four goals so far in this round of World Cup qualifiers – two of those players are out with injuries.
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India coach Stephen Constantine called it when he said it was a ‘David vs Goliath’ scenario. “If we can take anything out of this game it will be a bonus,” he said.
One can’t blame him for giving a realistic view of the situation. Iran played in the 2014 World Cup and almost kept finalists Argentina at bay until Lionel Messi scored one of the goals of the tournament in stoppage time. Iran are undefeated at the top of Group D while India are rock-bottom with just one win – a 1-0 result against Guam.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Kickoff: Thursday, 7 PM local time (8 PM IST)
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran
Live Telecast: IRIB TV3 (Iran)
Live Stream: Iransima (Not verified)
Team News
India: The Blue Tigers are without the services of skipper Sunil Chhetri who picked up a groin injury during the I-League campaign with Bengaluru FC. “He will be badly missed,” said Constantine. Indeed, he will be missed after scoring against Guam and a wonder goal against Oman earlier in the qualifiers.
Robin Singh has been a long-term absentee since his knee injury in the SAFF Cup and he is also one other player who scored in the qualifiers in the 1-0 win over Guam. 2015 I-League Midfielder of the Year Eugeneson Lyngdoh will also not be available as he recovers from a hairline fracture he suffered earlier this season.
Iran: Team Melli are also without their captain Andranik Teymourian who had scored in the reverse fixture in Bengaluru. They are also in a spot of bother without their first and second choice goalkeepers. The current squad's goalkeepers sees two debutants with Alireza Beiranvand set to take his place in goal. He had been sent off for a straight red card in the game against Guam.
Mehdi Taremi will be the man to watch out for. He has already scored five goals in the qualifiers and will look to increase his tally against India.
Can India qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup?
India are already out of World Cup contention. As much as Constantine has tried to tinker with the lineups in the recent qualifiers to blood some young players, they are mathematically out of contention now that they are bottom of the group with just one win.
However, the AFC Asian Cup is still a possibility. Among the eight groups in Asia, the four best fourth-placed teams move on to the Asian Cup qualifying third round. The other four fourth-placed teams go into a playoff to qualify.
But the bad news is that India are currently fifth – four points behind fourth-placed Guam (who have just one game left). The good news is that their goal difference is better than Guam but Iran could change that drastically.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 17 | 14 |
| 2 | Oman | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 | Turkmenistan | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 10 |
| 4 | Guam | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 7 |
| 5 | India | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 3 |
If India are to qualify, they must ideally get at least a draw against Iran and beat Turkmenistan in Kochi on 29 March. At the same time, Guam should lose their final game against Oman.
That would see India and Guam on 7 points each with India finishing fourth by virtue of having a better goal difference. But a draw between Oman and Guam would be curtains for India if they fail to beat Iran and would have to go through the playoffs, perhaps against stronger opposition.
Prediction
India have nothing to lose here having already missed out on World Cup qualification. The weather is also not pleasant with the temperature expected to drop to 15 degrees Celsius. Constantine tested the young players in the 2015 SAFF Cup and they came out victors against a highly-fancied Afghanistan.
But without Chhetri and Robin, Jeje Lalpekhlua will be expected to lead the side. If they bring their A-game to Tehran, they might just be able to keep the scoreline respectable against a side that has scored 20 goals in six games, conceding just three.
Predicted score: Iran 4-1 India
Betting Odds (William Hill)
Iran – 1/50
Draw – 10/1
India – 33/1
