Former India national team head coach, Stephen Constantine has reiterated that it will be “impossible” for the Blue Tigers not to qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup as they have “soundly beaten all the teams in their group” in the past.
Constantine, who had two stints as the head coach of the India football team during his managerial career, was especially successful in his second spell, leading the country to the 2016 SAFF Championship, 2018 Intercontinental Cup, post which he was named as the Sports Illustrated coach of the year in India.
He resigned in 2019 as the manager, with Constantine taking India from 173 in the FIFA World rankings in March, 2015 to 97 in December, 2018.
https://t.co/yqornTEKUY
— StephenConstantine (@StephenConstan) May 6, 2022
The 59-year-old has seen all the developments that has taken place in Indian football, considering that he was involved with the game during the National Football League stage and the formative years of the Indian Super League (ISL).
“It is impossible not to qualify (for the AFC Asian Cup). We have soundly beaten all these teams in the past. We are playing three games and all are in Kolkata. How can we not qualify? All three teams are below us in rankings. There should be a full house in Kolkata. Only three games and no away games, it doesn’t get any easier than this,” he told News9.
Igor Stimac’s side have been drawn alongside Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia in Group D of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, with the games scheduled to take place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata from June 8 onwards.
