Point-less India take on Oman in football WC qualifiers

Virtually out of reckoning after four losses in a row, a beleaguered Indian football team would look to salvage some pride and put up a decent performance against higher-ranked Oman in a World Cup qualifying round match here on Tuesday.

India <g data-gr-id="14">are</g> without a win in their World Cup qualifying campaign, even losing to lower-ranked Guam and pressure has been piling on the players and coach Stephen Constantine who took up the job early this year.

In the five-team group, India <g data-gr-id="16">are</g> yet to open <g data-gr-id="17">account</g> and have scored just three goals so far. They face an uphill task against Oman, ranked 102nd in FIFA charts as against the 167th of India, who had emerged 2-1 victorious in the first leg in Bangalore.

Constantine’s boys would surely be the underdogs in on Tuesday’s match as Oman are high on confidence after holding the continent’s highest-ranked team, Iran, to a 1-1 draw on October 8 at home.

On top of that, the Indians are short on practice as they have lost at least a day’s training after being stranded in Ashgabat due to non-availability of flights after their 1-2 loss to Turkmenistan.