2024; a year that has been wrapped with hope and dreams of all the Football fans of the Indian Men’s Football Team. The year has seen too many ups and downs , along with many unexpected events. And as we gear up to welcome 2025, let’s take a step back and rewind 2024 events that took place in Indian Football team.
END OF AN ERA
The Captain Fantastic announces his retirement from international football in June. The reason he said was not due to physical aspects rather concerns about mental health. He played his last at the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier against Kuwait. The player became the first Indian Footballer to be awarded with the Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
NEW COACH ; RENEWED HOPE
Coach Manolo Marquez hailing from Spain replaces Igor Stimac as the new head coach of the Indian Men’s Football Team. The All India Football Federation also stated that Marquez is to take up the role of the manager of the club FC Goa for the year. The Indian team is yet to have a win under the new coach. Marquez is confident about his team qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
AFC ASIAN CUP 2023 : DREAM SHATTERED
The AFC Asian Cup 2023 was a disaster as in the three matches played, the Indian team failed to score a single win. The Indian team faced a tough battle from Syria, Uzbekistan and Australia. The results were as follows
Syria vs India : 1-0
Uzbekistan vs India : 3-0
Australia vs India : 2-0
INDIA AT FIFA WORLD CUP 2026?
While the country stood in hope, perhaps we need to hope a bit longer as India failed to qualify the 3rd round at the FIFA World Cup 26 Asian Qualifiers. The team settled a draw with Afghanistan with 0-0 score and a win agaist Kuwait with 1-0. The team lost its run for advancement after a 2-1 loss to Qatar.
NO WIN IN THE YEAR
The year 2024 an be called sad for the members as well as for the fans of Indian Men’s Football. The team could not taste a single win in any of the matches played. An emotional result that is unprecedented in the last 10 years.
WRAPPING UP
Out of the 11 matches played in the whole year, the Indian Men’s Football Team lost 6 matches and 5 drawn. A total of 4 goals were scored while 15 were conceded.
TOWARDS NEW DAWN
With 2024 as a year without a win, but not without a fight, we are moving towards 2025. One of the most expected events is taking place in March where India is going to play the qualifiers for AFC Asian Cup 2027. The opening game is going to be against Bangladesh. India has been placed in group C along with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore. The winner of each team will qualify for the Asian Cup at Saudi Arabia. As of now the situation looks promising as India has the highest rank within the group. So let’s end this year on a positive note with more faith and more support for our Blue Tigers
