NEW DELHI: Indian men’s national football team has had a year to forget in 2025, with an exit from the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and a constant fall in the FIFA rankings.
In terms of results, the Blue Tigers had a marginally better year than 2024, when they failed to win a single match in an entire calendar year.
In 2025, India (men) changed coaches again, switching from Manolo Marquez to Khalid Jamil, and impressed at the CAFA Nations Cup in his first international stint as coach.
India’s record goalscorer Sunil Chhetri (left) come out of international retirement in March, 2025 but called time on his national team career again in November.
India beat Tajikistan in regulation time and Oman on penalties – both higher-ranked opponents – to finish third in the tournament.
India played a total of eleven matches in 2025, with a mix of home and away fixtures.
Their campaign began at home in Shillong, where they secured a 3–0 victory over the Maldives on March 19, followed by a 0–0 draw against Bangladesh on March 25.
In June, India faced two away defeats: a 2–0 loss to Thailand in Pathum Thani on June 4, and a 1–0 loss to Hong Kong in Kowloon on June 10.
The team returned to action in August and September for a series of matches at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan. Their results were:
A 2–1 win over Tajikistan on August 29,
Followed by a 3–0 loss to Iran on September 1,
A 0–0 draw with Afghanistan on September 4,
And a 1–1 draw with Oman on September 8.
In October, India played a home-and-away series against Singapore. They drew 1–1 in Singapore on October 9 but suffered a 1–2 defeat at home in Margao on October 14.
The year concluded with a final away match on November 18, where India fell 1–0 to Bangladesh in Dhaka.
However, it failed to turn the tide in the Asian Cup qualifiers, losing to lower-ranked Singapore and Bangladesh and getting knocked out of the qualifying race.
This year also saw India’s record goalscorer Sunil Chhetri come out of international retirement to make little difference, and after Asian Cup qualification heartbreak, he called time on his national team career again in November.
Agencies