Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Guwahati: Stephen Constantine made a winning start to his second tenure as India head coach as the Englishman oversaw a 2-0 victory over former employers Nepal in the first leg of their joint 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup preliminary round 1 qualifier on Thursday.
After a goalless first half at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Sunil Chhetri gave India a 53rd minute lead before the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup MVP sealed the win in the 70th minute to give his side a two-goal advantage to take into Tuesday’s second leg at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu.
The six Round 1 winners will advance to the second round where the 34 highest-ranked teams await. The 40 nations will be drawn into eight groups of five teams and compete according to a double round robin format.
The Round 2 qualification matches will be held between June 11, 2015 and March 29, 2016.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup finals.
Photo: AFP