Year-ender: Decoding the performance of Indian men's football team (2025)
What's the story
The Indian men's national football team endured a challenging year in 2025. The team exited the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and witnessed a steady decline in the FIFA rankings. However, their performance was slightly better than last year's dismal record of not winning any match throughout the year. As we are set to enter a new year, here we decode the Indian team's performance in 2025.
Tournament review
India's performance at CAFA Nations Cup
Under Khalid Jamil's guidance, India put up a stellar show at the CAFA Nations Cup. The team defeated higher-ranked opponents Tajikistan and Oman to secure a third-place finish in the tournament. The match against Oman at CAFA Nations Cup was a 1-1 draw before India won via penalty shootout. India finished 2nd in Group B behind Iran, securing one win (D1 L1). They beat Tajikistan 2-1 before losing to Iran 0-3. Thereafter, they drew 0-0 versus Afghanistan.
Qualification struggles
Asian Cup qualifiers: India struggle big time
India faced tough competition in the Asian Cup qualifiers, losing to lower-ranked teams Singapore and Bangladesh. These defeats ended their hopes of qualifying for the tournament. India started their qualifying campaign with a 0-0 draw against Bangladesh. Thereafter, they lost to Hong Kong 0-1. On Matchday three, they drew 1-1 against Singapore. In the next set of games, India lost 1-2 against Singapore and 0-1 against Bangladesh. Their last game is against Hong Kong in March 2026.
Do you know?
India played 11 matches across all competitions in 2025
Across all competitions in the 2025 calendar year, the Men in Blue appeared in 11 matches. They recorded two wins (excluding the penalty shootout win against Oman), 4 draws and 5 defeats.
Information
How did India perform in friendly matches?
In March 2025, India defeated Maldives 3-0 in a friendly contest at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong. Their only other friendly contest was against Thailand in June. India lost that game 0-2 at the Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani, Thailand.