The Indian men’s national football team had a challenging year in 2024, finishing without a single victory. This was particularly surprising given their success the previous year, winning three trophies on the spin. However, in the 2024 Asian Cup, hosted in Qatar in January, the team suffered the worst period in the tournament's history. India lost all their group-stage matches without scoring a goal, despite hopes of performing better against tough opponents such as Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria.
The team also did not advance to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, which would have made history. Despite being handed an easy group and starting the journey with a win, they remain winless in the remaining matches. Even Igor Stimac’s sacking did not change things as Manolo Marquez could not lead his side to the Intercontinental Cup defence with a 3-0 loss to Syria. The Blue Tigers wish to turn their form around in 2025 with the qualifiers for the Asian Cup 2027 as their main target.
Although all the 11 games played this year were disappointments, we selected the results that were crushing for the side:
India 0-3 Uzbekistan (Asian Cup)
India put up a decent defensive show against Asian heavyweights Australia in their 2024 Asian Cup opener but lost 2-0. They were simply the underdogs in the game to do something so the result was not disheartening. However, no excuse could be made in the second match where the national team lost 3-0 to Uzbekistan even though the opponent was higher ranked than them. The worst part of the loss was the game was over before half-time as Uzbekistan scored all three goals in the first half. Even before the Blue Tigers could settle in the match, The White Wolves took the lead inside just four minutes and never looked back. Despite India trying their best to make an unlikely comeback in the second half by hitting the post and working the Uzbek keeper, the damage was done. The team suffered another defeat in the final group game to Syria to bow out of the competition.
India 1-2 Afghanistan (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers)
The thrashing by Uzbekistan was disheartening but the embarrassing loss of the year came against Afghanistan in the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The two games against the fellow South Asian nation were expected to be winnable for India as they embarked on a historical third-round qualification. However, the team failed to win in both, drawing goalless in the away fixture held in the Middle East for the situation in Afghanistan but the real humiliation happened in the reverse clash at Guwahati. Expecting to break their duck at home at least, India looked to be on the right track when Sunil Chhetri scored from the spot before half-time although Manvir Singh had a shocker of a miss with the goal gaping early in the match. The pieces fell off in the second half with the Lions of Khurasan responding strongly, testing Gurpreet Singh before catching him off-guard for the equaliser and then finding the winner from the spot with the keeper guilty again.
India 0-0 Kuwait (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers)
India faced continued disappointment in the qualifiers when they hosted Kuwait at Salt Lake. This match marked the farewell game for Chhetri, and a packed crowd had high hopes that the Blue Tigers would make history. With destiny still in their hands, there was an opportunity to honour their record-scorer, captain, leader, and legend by making his final match memorable. Having beaten the visitors in the reverse clash and recent meetings on home soil, the hosts should have been optimistic but the side failed to carve out any real chances instead keeping an improved Gurpreet at the other end busy. India was also fortunate not to lose the tie altogether with Anwar Ali’s rash challenge in the box miraculously getting unnoticed by the officials. The goalless draw was nothing short of a defeat for India who made their task harder for qualifying and let their captain hang his boots with a disappointing note.
Qatar 2-1 India (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers)
For these results, India had to win their final game away against the Asian Champions and already qualified Qatar to get into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers. The Middle Eastern giants fielded a less strong squad for the encounter with no stakes to carry but that does not undermine the start India had in the first game post-Sunil Chhetri era. After several close chances, Lallianzuala Chhangte scored before the break to give his side something to hold onto. However, a controversial equaliser in the 73rd minute from the hosts in the second half was made to stand despite the ball being out of play demoralising the Blue Tigers who eventually lost the game five minutes from time. India had every reason to complain about the injustice done to them otherwise they would have headed towards the third round but they already made the path tough for themselves putting everything on the line in the final match.
