Constantine acknowledged that he was pleased with the reaction of his players.
The Indian national team coach Stephen Constantine was full of praise for his team who beat Guam 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday, but he would've happier if the victory had come against Iran. "I am happy that we won but not excited as we beat Guam, not Iran," said the Englishman. Though India earned their first three points in the qualifying campaign, the five straight defeats that they've had means they are still bottom-placed of their group. But Constantine acknowledged that he was pleased with the reaction of his players.
"Of course these are our first points in the group stages. We were unlucky in some of the games losing 2-1 in four occasions. Though we played very well in the first half and controlled things, the second half was a setback but the boys were resilient and gave everything and I think overall, we deserved to win," he said at the post match press conference. "We had chances in the second half as well. It is never easy to play with ten men," he added. Constantine has a reputation of handing debuts to budding talents and took his tally to 18 players as Romeo Fernandes and Augustine Fernandes made their international bows. However, he insists that he picks players purely on merit. "I don't pick players because they are debutants. I pick them because of what they show me in the I-League and the games. We need to expand our pool of players. Our boys need international experience. There is something which is lacking," he said.
"For example if you ask our under 19s how many games they have played, they will answer 40-50 in their lifetime. Whereas, if you ask a 14-year-old boy in England, he will say 250," he pointed out. The 53-year-old is confident in the current crop of players, declaring that they will progress and are the future of Indian football. "This team will come good within 18 months and is the future of Indian Football. We needed the points. It gives us now a good chance to go to the play-offs and hope we can beat Turkmenistan in our next home game," he enthused.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Stephen Constantine")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}