SANDESH JHINGAN: We are confident that India can qualify for AFC Asian Cup 2027

The Indian men’s football team is in a precarious state: a FIFA ranking of 134, three different head coaches—Igor Stimac, Manolo Marquez and Khalid Jamil—in three years and bottom of the group in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers.

But in their Maiden Cafa Nations Cup appearance, between August and September, the Blue Tigers defeated higher-ranked Tajikistan and Oman to finish third – a rare silver lining among dark clouds.

Before India’s Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore on October 9 and 14, Sandesh Jhingan, one of the team’s captains alongside Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sunil Chhetri, sat for an exclusive interview with Sports star To discuss India’s hopes of qualification and how he remains one of the country’s most prominent centre-backs.

Q: How was the CAFA Nations Cup experience, and do you think India should play more teams from West Asia and Central Asia, from the South Asia zone, even if it is outside the FIFA window?

A: The more games you play, the better. The more different styles of football you are exposed to, the more it improves you as a team and as an athlete. I think we’ve done it quite often now. Remember King’s Cup, every now and then we go there and in King’s Cup we played against teams like Iraq. I don’t think any player will ever say no to such opportunities.

When I personally heard that we would be able to play the Cafa Nations Cup, I was very happy. I was like – because I keep following these tournaments – I just hope the first teams come from Uzbekistan and Iran.

I was happy to have Iran in our group because you want to play against the best of Asia to test yourself. Although the result did not go in our favor, I remember the feeling after the Iran game. The team’s confidence grew so much. We talked right after the match, and I could feel the energy, the belief: 90 minutes before the match there was a certain level, and after 90 minutes, even though we lost, the belief became so high.

Q: You also broke your cheekbone in that game, which also kept you out of the AFC Champions League 2 match. How is your cheekbone now?

A: Thanks for asking, and things are much better now. I started individual training to maintain my lungs and improve my fitness. I have that mask too. So that will pretty much help a lot. Let’s see how my body picks up and heals.

Q: There was a time when you were rejected by one of Kolkata’s most prominent clubs, and now, almost 15 years later, you are one of India’s captains and most versatile defenders. How do you deal with failures and setbacks?

A: I had my ups and downs. If I had to sum it up, I’m not someone who’s going to carry his baggage and say, ‘Look, this is what I’ve been through.’ How I really look at life one way: No matter how hard life is for you right now, remember that someone suffered more at the exact moment. When you suffer, there is someone who suffers more than you.

And if you think you are successful now, there is someone more successful than you at that moment. At the time, I knew I was going through a rough patch – trying to get a job and everything. But some players were in worse circumstances. Sitting where I am now, some people have accomplished more than me. The whole point is to stay stable and happy with where you are, improve your present and keep working hard for a better tomorrow.

Q: India’s former two coaches played a lot from the back a lot. Khalid, on the other hand, comes in as a slightly more traditional, cautious manager. What has your reception of him been like and how has the team gotten used to it?

A: I think one thing that every coach or every person who will read this will agree is that no matter what your style of football, you always want to win games – that’s the best way to look at it.

You can have different approaches, and I still think it’s too early for the media or people to put a certain brand of football on Khalid Saab.

He had barely 12 days of camp in Bengaluru before we had to play four matches (at Cafa Nations Cup). So we had to do what we had to do to produce the results at that time. And Khalid Saab was able to rally the boys.

Also read | Doing more with less – how Khalid Jamil defied expectations with a depleted squad in Cafa Nations Cup 2025

Given the result we got, if you ask anyone if India could go to the CFAA Nations Cup – we have the likes of Oman, Tajikistan and Iran – and thirdly, I think a lot of people won’t like it because they won’t believe it.

So, whatever the style of football, if you get the results, it’s good enough. Credit him and the boys. Now, slowly, we will see how he will adapt, what kind of players will come, and based on that he will do his part.

Probably after a year or two we can learn to know what the real system is or how you want to style a brand.

Q: Under Khalid, centre-backs make a lot of forward runs. Of course you were very actively involved in the Tajikistan competition in that aspect. Do you see that as an opportunity or as a challenge under the new coach?

A: Of course I see it as an opportunity. But also as an athlete, I make my bread and butter by keeping clean sheets – that’s my main job. I want to help the team more every day, and as a defender – I think I have six goals – contributing every now and then, that really helps the team. If the coaches see the potential in you, they give you the license to do it.

Q: You are now 32 and you have struggled with injuries in terms of ACL after the Asian Cup. Now the cheekbone problem. Is there anything you do to keep yourself in shape?

A: One thing I’m quite proud of is that I was born with a curious mind. So I continue to research, read and experiment with my body. I’ve made a lot of changes to my diet.

I think after my first injury in 2019 (a knee injury while playing for India in an unofficial friendship against North East -United). So that diet I’m on now (since that injury) has become my main powerhouse.

I have completely eliminated gluten and lactose from my diet. It’s been six years now and I haven’t consumed it.

Of course I’ll accept a little when my mother comes. Sometimes I eat when she wants to make something for me. But (letting go of) gluten and lactose have been the biggest game-breakers for me.

Skipping breakfast also helped me a lot. I didn’t know I was doing this since I was a kid because when I used to go to school I never ate anything in the morning and would eat right after 11:30 or whenever you have a break. When I became professional, (I was introduced to) the habit of having a strong breakfast.

After 2019, I just felt like I wanted to cut one meal out of my diet, and I just made it to breakfast. So now, now I’ll have my dinner around 7:30, then I won’t eat anything until about 12 or 12:30, and I’ll go to work and finish training in the morning.

But now, how football is, (Luka) Modric plays until the age of 40, even Sunil plays until the age of 41. So age is just a number.

However, I also agree that I no longer feel like I used to at 21, and you have to put in the extra effort. But I like to go to great lengths to keep my body healthy and happy and in harmony.

Q: India has impressed against senior opponents. But it has struggled against lower sides: Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Now you have the Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore, another lower-ranked team. How do you see it as an opponent and what preparations have India had for the qualifiers?

A: We especially know the importance of the next two games, and we recognize and take responsibility for them. From the last two games where we didn’t get the result. (We) also take responsibility for it.

We have failed the nation. We let the coach down too, I think, especially in the match against Bangladesh. We, as players, on the field, did not have a good match, most of us. And against Hong Kong it was one of those games that could have gone either way.

But that’s football. Sometimes teams go through a bad run and we had a patch like that; And the only ones who should be blamed are the players. We are the ones on the field, and it should start with the seniors, and I will be the first to take the blame.

But like I said, we think things are going bad or they’re going good. Everything, end of the day, changes, and you just have to stay steady and calm.

Now we have four games. If we win them, starting (with the match against) Singapore, we will qualify for the Asian Cup for the third consecutive time. India had not qualified for consecutive Asian Cups, but we did that in 2023.

So you just stay calm, believe in the work, the system and stay united. Now the camp has started in Bengaluru and Khalid Bhai has started his preparations.

We’ll see how they (Singapore) are lately. They changed their coach and it’s all about faith. We, at least as a group, are fully convinced that we want to be in the 2027 Asian Cup.

Whether we will be there or we won’t be there is another thing, but our preparation, our work towards it will not be less than it should be, and God bless, we will be in the Asian Cup.

Published on October 8, 2025