Indian National Football Team: What next after Asian Cup exit?

After a breathtaking 4-1 victory against Thailand in their AFC Asian Cup 2019 opener, things went south for the Indian national side as they lost both their remaining Group A games against the UAE and Bahrain, resulting in an early exit from the tournament.

Immediately after the loss to Bahrain on Monday, Stephen Constantine resigned from the post of Head Coach of the Blue Tigers. This was followed by another resignation, this time in the form of Indian centre back Anas Edathodika. 

Goal takes a look at what is next in store for the national side.
 

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India Senior Team

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Getty

Regardless of the heartbreaking exit from the AFC Asian Cup, the Blue Tigers could have an exciting international campaign to look forward to. The next FIFA international friendly window starts from 19 March and will continue till the 27th.

The onus is on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to organise friendly games but before that India needs to appoint a new head coach for the team as well.
 

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India U-23s

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Interestingly, Stephen Constantine also served as the head coach for the Indian Under-23 squad and with the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship Qualification around the corner, a head coach for the young tigers needs to be appointed immediately.

The Under-23 side is set to fly out to Uzbekistan for the AFC Under-23 qualifiers. They are currently placed in Group F along with Pakistan, Tajikistan and the hosts Uzbekistan. India kick off their campaign against Tajikistan on 22 March, then face the Uzbeks on 24 March, rounding off with a game against arch-rivals Pakistan on 26 March.

The last time the Under-23 side played was back in 2018 where they participated in the SAFF Championship held in Bangladesh. The Indians lost to the Maldives in the final which took place on the 2nd of September 2018.
 

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Road to the next World Cup

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The next major competitive game for the Indian nation team comes in the form of the 2022 FIFA World Cup - 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers which will be held in June later this year. The format remains the same as 2018 World Cup - 2019 Asian Cup joint qualifications.

However, India might get a bye for the first round which will be held in June 2019 as India are currently ranked in the top 15 in Asia. The draw will take into consideration the February 2019 rankings. The second round qualifiers of the same start from September 2019.