PREVIEW: Iran vs India -- a chance to bleed the youngsters in

WE PLAYED THEM in Bengaluru, a few months ago. We had a full squad, and the fantastic crowd at Kanteerava. We played our aggressive game that almost took them by surprise.

Almost.

We lost the match 3-0. It was still an effort to be proud of. Back then it was taken as a sign that the team was onto something; they would use the rest of the matches to at least gather enough points to make it straight into the next round of the Asian Cup qualifiers.

We didn't. A couple of bad results and now we are facing a situation where our chances for a direct entry into the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers require us to get at least a draw out of Iran, tomorrow, away from home. 

We're playing in an ice-cold, rain-drenched Tehran where the loud home crowd will be against us. And we don't have many of the players who put up a fight against Iran that night. Robin Singh, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Dhanpal Ganesh have been out for a while. But the day before departure the Blue Tigers also lost out on their main man up front and the on-field leader Sunil Chhetri. 

So our weakened 160th ranked team is going up against a Iran's 44th ranked, World Cup-regular squad. No one thinks we stand a chance.

In the pre-match pre-match press conference, Constantine did his best to keep the expectations realistic,

“Playing Iran in Iran is as tough as it can get. It’s like David vs Goliath on the field. Iran are the Giants of Asia... we understand that we will be without the ball for most part of the match. We will try to stop them. We will fight and try to get something out from the match. We have four key Players missing. We are a young side. On paper, we have nothing to lose. We will give everything which we have. If we can take anything out of this game it will be a bonus.”

But it will be wrong to assume that points is the only thing Indian players stand to make out of this.

A year ago, when Constantine took over, he changed the face of the national team. He brought in younger players; debuting 22 in one year and bringing the average age down from 32 to 24. The idea is to groom a team for the future; one that can claim its place in the 2019 Asian Cup. And that is why, for this young Indian contingent, this match is perhaps more important than all others. 

More than winning or losing, this match provides them with an opportunity to test themselves against the best team in Asia. That's not something they'll get to do in an international friendly. The team has evolved since September; lots of new players have come in, and gained a bit of confidence by coming out victorious in the SAFF Championship. But many of them have not experienced the wide spectrum of quality that exists in world football. 

The Iranian team is full of quality and experience. Some of their players ply their trade in the lower divisions of footballing powers like England and Germany. Striker Reza Ghoochannejhad plays for Charlton Athletic. Defender Ehsan Hajsafi is with FSV Frankfurt. There are others who play for clubs in Russia and Greece. Quite a few of them have World Cup experience under their belt. In short, they are the perfect opponents to bleed our youngsters in.

So for this one time, we shouldn't worry about winning or losing. This one will be about Narayan Das going up against Sardar Azmoun. Or Rowlin Borges sweating in the icy cold trying to win the ball from Ashkan Dejagah. It's about spending the 90 minutes going toe to toe with the giants; trying, failing but trying again.

And if it all comes together, who knows, maybe we'll get to see something special. Maybe Jeje Lalpekhlua, entrusted with the captain's armband in this game, will produce a moment that will silence the vociferous crowd at the Azadi Stadium. In the pre-match presser, the Mohun Bagan striker made it clear that if the Blue Tigers fall short tomorrow, it won't be for lack of trying,

"Tomorrow will be a difficult game for us. But we are here to fight and aim to take something out of the game.”

And all I'm saying about that is that something can be more than a point. In sport, nothing teaches you like a hard battle, and the lessons Constantine's boys pick up from the fray tomorrow may help them later; against Turkmenistan perhaps, or better still, in the upcoming Aisan Cup qualifiers; play-off and beyond.

This is likely going to be the toughest game India step into until 2019. So all we can hope is that they make the best of it.