Indian football has been in a state of turmoil this season with the senior team performing poorly earlier in the year and the Indian Super League (ISL) being delayed for commercial reasons. However, in recent times, there have been some green shoots of hope. It began with the India senior team winning third place at the CAFA Nations Cup. That positivity was further enhanced by the India U-23 team producing some eye-catching performances at the recently-concluded AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Qatar.
Brilliant win over Bahrain
The Indian colts began the qualifiers with a 2-0 win over Bahrain (September 3), a game headlined by Muhammed Suhail’s dazzling solo strike. They then suffered an agonising 1-2 loss to hosts Qatar (Sept 6), where the home team scored the winner from the spot after a red-card tackle by Pramveer Singh in the box. That meant India would need an absurd 14 goals against a weak Brunei Darussalam side — a difficult task, but not impossible, as Brunei had conceded 23 goals in two games against Qatar and Bahrain. The Indians emerged 6-0 victors against Brunei (Sept 9), meaning they fell eight goals short of qualifying, ending the tournament as the fifth-best second-placed side (the top-four second-placed teams across the 11 qualifying groups made it to the main event to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to January 25, 2026).
India U-23 coach Naushad Moosa
Despite missing out on qualification for the continental event, India U-23 coach Naushad Moosa, 53, is confident that he has found a strong core of players for next year’s Asian Games (September 19 to October 4) in Japan. “I will sit with the All India Football Federation [AIFF] officials to discuss when we can have more camps and matches ahead of the Asian Games. We need continuity and momentum. I can work on improving on aspects like retaining possession and defence which will helps us do well in the Asian Games,” Moosa, a Kharghar resident, told mid-day recently.
Moosa, a former India defender, also believes that his lads have provided a timely reminder of their talent and staked a claim for a bigger role with their respective ISL teams, when the domestic season does get underway.
‘Boys are mentally strong’
“I’m proud of the boys. It’s unfortunate that they missed out due to goal difference on what would’ve been a historic first qualification, but they showed real character despite the uncertainty surrounding the ISL. They didn’t let it play on their minds and were focused. I’m sure the clubs have also noticed the way they played, I hope they get more game time because they’ve shown they’re good enough. This bunch is the future of Indian football,” said Moosa, who next takes charge of Northeast Utd FC’s reserve team.
