⚽️ HT Kick Off: Nothing tops the win against ThailandIn this issue Dhiman explains why that victory for India's women is better than the win against UAE and the draw away to Qatar by the Blue Tigers.
The win against Thailand is India’s greatest football moment this century. Stunning as they were, the men’s team surprising UAE in 2001 and holding Asian champions Qatar to 0-0 away in 2019 will be behind in the pecking order to what the women achieved on Saturday. All three results were against teams ranked significantly higher. India were 124 when they hosted UAE, who were ranked 64th and coached by Henri Michel, in the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign. Qatar were 62nd in the FIFA rankings, India 103rd when the teams met in Doha in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. At Chiang Mai’s 700th Anniversary Stadium, the gap between the teams were 24 places but rarely has less felt so much more. That’s because for all the guts and glory against UAE and Qatar the campaigns ended like every other before and after. The draw in Doha was followed by stalemates against Bangladesh and Afghanistan and if we remember the 2001 campaign it is because India were the closest they have ever been to making the final round of the qualifiers. The 4-1 win against Thailand in the 2019 Asian Cup finals, India’s first in the competition in 64 years, the Nehru Cup titles and Sunil Chhetri’s hattrick in the AFC Challenge Cup final will figure in the list of honourable mentions. As will the 2002 AFC under-16 (boys) quarter-final berth. All-or-nothing matchThat the win against Thailand bucked the trend of India’s men and women teams being poor travellers, especially in crunch qualifying games, adds to the significance of this win. Thailand have World Cup experience, were in line for the 10th successive AFC Women’s Asian Cup finals berth and were at home. Both had creamed Timor-Leste, Iraq and Mongolia, the other teams in the group, scored the same number of goals while conceding none turning the Saturday evening match into an all-or-nothing encounter.
That India had never beaten Thailand didn’t weigh the women down. “Thailand are ranked higher, but it doesn’t mean we can’t beat them,” Sangita Basfore was quoted as saying by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) website. One day later, Basfore walked the talk by scoring twice as India made history. The announcement of a $50,000 reward was an appropriate step by a federation in the news mostly for the wrong reasons. The agreement with AIFF’s commercial partner ends this year. The men’s team's ranking has slumped to 133, their lowest in nine years, memories of three trophies and a return to the top-100 in 2023 pushed back by defeats, a high turnover of coaches and their less-than-pleasant separation. The women’s team also had coaches come and go, the job even being handed to a former player with little experience of women’s football. There was the disaster of Covid-19 forcing India out of the 2022 Asian championship finals and then there were defeats to Bangladesh, who have also qualified for the finals in Australia, and Nepal in the SAFF Championship. Big step forwardCrispin Chhetri took charge of a team in transition, as he explained to HT, but he has shown that if managed properly, change does not need to be messy. Before the match against Thailand, Chhetri had said: “Qualification right now would be a huge boost for Indian football overall. We’re going through a challenging phase at the moment, and the women’s team qualifying would really provide a ray of hope. It would also help the women’s game grow in India…For those already in the national team, it would be an opportunity to face the best teams in Asia, and possibly the world. So in every way, I believe it would be a big step forward for football in India.” A big step forward this certainly is. At the end of the interview, Chhetri and I had agreed to speak after India qualify. It is a conversation I am looking forward to. Now that a seat at the high table of Asian football has been secured, India need a clear plan to get ready for it. Shaji Prabhakaran, AIFF’s former secretary-general and FIFA Development Officer in an earlier life, has made some suggestions. AIFF does not need to accept them (given that they are like opposite-coloured bishops in chess, it is unlikely it will) but has to come up with a plan quickly. The Marquez questionThat is not AIFF’s strongest suit if the Manolo Marquez’ separation saga is any indication. Marquez has told “Marca” that he had wanted out after the draw against Bangladesh. What is not clear is why AIFF persisted with someone who was not keen for two more matches, one of them an Asian Cup qualifier? Marquez has said he thought players knowing he will not stay affected their performance against Hong Kong. It is not known why AIFF thought otherwise. And even as the hunt for Marquez’s successor began, AIFF has not specified whether the appointment will be a short-term fix or for a longer tenure. Play of the week
In other newsGuilty of fixing: Two footballers have admitted in court to engaging in betting corruption after they were paid by criminals to earn yellow cards during games in A-League, reports AP. Former Macarthur Bulls captain Ulises Davila, midfielders Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis were charged in May 2024 with manipulating yellow cards during games in 2023 and 2024. Davila, 33, allegedly acted as the contact between the southwest Sydney club's players and a criminal group in Colombia, organising for the yellow cards to occur during particular games. Baccus, 33, and Lewis, 27, were allegedly paid up to 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,550) by Davila to deliberately get booked. Another Messi mark: Lionel Messi became the first player in Major League Soccer (MLS) history with four consecutive multi-goal games, scoring twice to lead Inter Miami past the New England Revolution 2-1 on Wednesday, says AP. Messi has at least one goal in five straight games. He has 14 goals — second in MLS to Nashville's Sam Surridge (16) — and seven assists in 15 regular-season matches.
Lyon avoid drop: Seven-time French champions Lyon have kept their Ligue 1 place after winning their appeal against relegation, the French Football Federation (FFF) has said, reports AFP. The FFF said Lyon would have to cut their wage bill and transfer budget for the upcoming campaign. Last month, Lyon were relegated to Ligue 2 by French football's financial watchdog, who had placed the club under budgetary restrictions in November. Rape charge on Partey: Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London's Metropolitan Police said on Friday, reports Reuters. Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said. He is due to appear at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 5. He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing. FIFA in Trump Tower: FIFA has opened an office inside Trump Tower in New York City as it steps up preparations for the 2026 World Cup, reports AP. “FIFA is a global organisation and to be global, you have to be local, you have to be everywhere, so we have to be in New York,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said at an event in Manhattan. Eleven of the 16 venues in 2026 will be in the USA with three in Mexico and two in Canada. The final will take place in the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Ancelotti Jr at Botafogo: Botafogo have appointed Davide Ancelotti, the son of Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti, as their new manager, reports Reuters. The 35-year-old Ancelotti, who served as an assistant to his father at Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton and most recently Real Madrid, has signed a one-year contract with Botafogo. Ancelotti left Real at the end of last season along with his father. Botafogo sacked manager Renato Paiva last week following their Club World Cup exit, despite Paiva guiding them to victory against Champions League winners Paris St Germain earlier in the competition.
Rakitic retires: Former Croatia international Ivan Rakitic, who spent much of his career with Barcelona and Sevilla, announced his retirement on Monday at the age of 37, reports AFP. “Football, you gave me more than I ever dreamed of. You gave me friends, emotions, joy and tears,” Rakitic wrote on social media. “Now it's time to say goodbye. Because even if I walk away from you, I know you'll never walk away from me. Thank you, football. For everything.” Rakitic, who began his career with Basel and later moved to Schalke, played 106 times for Croatia and started the World Cup final loss to France in 2018. He was part of Barcelona's treble-winning side in 2015 and twice won the Europa League with Sevilla. Rakitic had a short spell with Saudi club Al Shabab last year before one final season at Hajduk Split. Peter Rufai dead: Former Nigeria goalkeeper Peter Rufai has died aged 61 following an illness, the national football federation has said, reports AFP. Popularly known as Dodomayana, Rufai earned 65 caps for Nigeria and featured at the 1994 and 1998 World Cup finals. He also was part of the Nigeria squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in Tunisia in 1994, beating Zambia 2-1.
Durand Cup: East Bengal will face South United FC of Bengaluru in the opening match of the 134th Durand Cup at Salt Lake stadium on July 23, reports PTI. The final of the tournament, which will feature 43 matches across six cities, will be held on August 23. The 24 participating teams have been divided into six groups of four teams each. Six group winners and two best second-placed teams will progress to the quarter-finals, to be held on August 16 and 17. The semi-finals are scheduled for August 19 and 20. Iconic momentAlways in our hearts
Carrying a red floral wreath bearing his shirt number, Diogo Jota's Liverpool teammates joined relatives and residents in a small Portuguese town on Saturday for the funeral of the player who died with his brother in a car crash on July 3. Captain Virgil Van Dijk, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and manager Arne Slot were among Liverpool teammates past and present who attended the service in Gondomar for the striker and his brother, Andre Silva, reports Reuters. Rute Cardoso, who married her childhood sweetheart Jota only weeks before the fatal crash, arrived with relatives. Hundreds of residents of Gondomar, a small town in northern Portugal where Jota grew up, gathered outside. "Jota will always be in our hearts. He will always be present at every breakfast, lunch, dinner, at all our national team get-togethers, at our PlayStation games, at our card games," Bernardo Silva told Portuguese broadcaster TVI. Also readIn war-torn Sudan, football comes home PSG, one match away from a quadruple They said it
That’s all for this week. As always, I look forward to your feedback. You can either write to me at dhiman@htlive.com, or reply to this mail.
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