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In larger scheme of things, India have not achieved much: Constantine

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ANI New Delhi [India]

Indian football coach Stephen Constantine believes that although the national side have been able to raise the bar in the last two years, they failed to achieve anything in larger scheme of things.

On a day when India retained their spot at 100 in the June FIFA Rankings, Constantine, in an interview, spoke at length about the significance of being 100.

"I understand we have been able to raise the bar over the last two years and that's what the intent was. However, in the larger scheme of things we have not achieved anything. After our International Friendly against Nepal, we play against Kyrgyz Republic and they are a very dangerous and difficult opponent," he said.

 

Talking about the team's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifier against Kyrgyz Republic, Constantine said the latter are very well organised and that they are expecting a difficult match against them.

"They have some very good players and are very well organised. You think of the belt they are coming from and their neighbouring countries -- Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan - you will understand that they are all very capable players. They will be very difficult and we expect very difficult games, both at home and away," Constantine said.

India, who have won 11 of the last 13 matches including the unofficial friendly match against Bhutan, will take on Kyrgyztan in Bengaluru on June 13.

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First Published: Jun 01 2017 | 5:31 PM IST

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