Bhaichung Bhutia has said India can learn from the likes of Uzbekistan and Jordan – both of which will make their FIFA World Cup debuts in the 2026 edition – if the country wants to further its football development.
Speak with Sports stars Ahead of the tournament, the former India skipper reflected on Uzbekistan’s growth during his playing days. Bhutia became the country’s youngest goalscorer at 18 years and 90 days when he scored against the White Wolves – the Asian Games gold medalists – in the 1995 Nehru Cup in Kolkata, noting that the matches were much more closely contested during his playing days.
«Also during my career, you would play some matches with Uzbekistan, at least six to 10 matches, and India would win 50% of the matches. But the way Uzbekistan has taken over, I think they have changed the entire structure of football,» Bhutia said.
«One of their players is now at Manchester City. They have Fabio Cannavaro as coach, who has experience of winning the World Cup with Italy. The Italians did not qualify, but he took Uzbekistan to the World Cup. It shows where they have gone.»
Bhutia said India could gain a lot from the growth of Uzbekistan and Jordan, both of which have been regular opponents in the Asian competition.
«I think India should not just look at European teams like England, Spain and Portugal for development. I think you should focus on countries like Uzbekistan and Jordan, how they have fared and what the structure of the league is. That means we have to follow rather than trying to follow something that the European clubs and leagues are trying to follow.»
He also said that the fact that nine Asian teams were participating in the global showpiece could give India «great hope».
«It gives a lot of hope because FIFA has expanded the number of teams to 48. Asia now has eight teams from four that can qualify directly. The quota system has been doubled.
And it gives India a good chance to qualify in the future too. Four was always going to be a big struggle and challenge, but when you have eight teams it at least gives you a much better chance of qualifying,” he said.
“I thought it was a header” – memories of the 1986 World Cup
Bhutia also reminisced about watching the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, an edition that was dominated by the freakish talents of Diego Maradona. “For me, the best and biggest memory is of the 1986 World Cup. That was the first time I saw international football and television had just come to India too.
My first World Cup was in 1986 and Maradona was God. I think many players of my generation were so inspired by Maradona to play the game and love it too,” he recalled.
“It was my first World Cup watching it, and the whole village came to watch it in our house.
Someone would move the antenna in the vegetable garden to get the network. So those were fantastic experiences of the first World Cup.”
He also recalled Maradona’s iconic performance in the quarter-finals against England, where he scored the controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal, smashing the ball into the goal before scoring the ‘Goal of the Century’ by dribbling through the England defense four minutes later.
«At that time there was no VAR, everything happened so fast. So I really felt it was a header, but when you look back now, clearly the hand of God was completely there! Then the second goal he scored is still one of the best goals of any World Cup in my opinion,» he said.
«At that time, players were not so protected. Maradona was kicked and dragged everywhere. Nevertheless, I think he won on his own. No other footballer in the world has ever won a World Cup on his own. I think that is why Maradona is known as the greatest,» he reflected.
Looking ahead to the 2026 edition, the 49-year-old said the tournament would be difficult to predict. «I think this is the first time that this World Cup is so open. You have eight to ten teams there that can actually win this World Cup, and if you let them play against each other, you cannot say that this team is a favorite over others.»
The interaction was organized by Zee5, the official broadcaster of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in India
Published on June 12, 2026
