India's return to the continental stage will be tough as the Indian national team has been drawn in Group C along with South Korea, Australia and Bahrain.
The draw for the final round of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup was held on Friday, April 23 at the impressive Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The 16 teams who will take part were drawn in four groups of four teams each.
The 15th edition of the continental championships will be played from January 7 to 29, 2011. The schedule of matches will be announced on April 26.
India returns to the continental stage after a gap of 27 years. India last played in the 1984 Asian Cup in Singapore, but had then finished last in their group behind China, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
India will face two World Cup playing sides in South Korea and Australia, who will be seen in action this summer, while Bahrain only missed out being in South Africa due a playoff loss to New Zealand.
One can also have a look at the latest Asian rankings. Australia are the number 1 team, South Korea are third, while Bahrain sixth and India are 22nd amongst 46 ranked nations.
Out of the four groups, Group C looks the toughest with onlookers expecting India to play no role at all in this group. And maybe this is India's chance to cause the one or the other upset.
For the further development of the game in India a good result in Qatar is crucial, but an impossible ask for captain Baichung Bhutia and his team. But losing all three matches, even by big margins will hamper the progress of the beautiful game in India.
Still home advantage away from home could help India. With many migrant workers in Qatar and neighbouring Gulf States India could be the second best supported side in the tournament, while a number of Indian football fans plan to travel to Qatar. And the two Nehru Cup victories plus the AFC Challenge Cup title have shown that the team can perform under pressure, but this type of competition will be much tougher then in the recent past.
Indian national coach Bob Houghton had said before the draw that India would have to face tough competition due to being the lowest ranked team in the competition, but he would have hoped for something a little easier.
"Australia and Korea are two teams any coach would want to avoid being drawn alongside his team. The ranking itself speaks about the difference in standards. Bahrain also are good. Still we'll try to put up the best effort," Houghton said after the draw.
Team India players after the draw have all said that it is a tough draw but the matches would have to be played first and they would give everything to get a positive result.
India's preparations for the tournament will continue in July with the national team staying together until the Asian Cup in January 2011.
Coach Bob Houghton will be taking the team to Portugal in July/August for a preparatory camp and exposure trip before continuing to prepare the team in India and the Gulf. Numerous friendly games are being planed to prepare the team for the tough tasks ahead.
With the groups now out, India will be looking to play friendly games against higher ranked Asian sides in the coming months. Matches against Bryan Robson coached Thailand are planed for September 4 and 8.
The Groups
Group A: Qatar, Kuwait, China, Uzbekistan
Group B: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan, Syria
Group C: Korea Republic, India, Australia, Bahrain
Group D: Iraq, North Korea, United Arab Emirates, Iran
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