Emotions were understandably volatile in the stands after India’s shock 1-2 defeat to Afghanistan in the second round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday night at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.
The 8000-capacity crowd had turned on their nation’s head coach Igor Stimac, with calls for him to step down from his role, after poor results in recent months.
But at the full-time whistle, they turned their attentions towards the away side, which had claimed its first win on Indian soil. The Indian supporters gave the players a round of applause, as the Afghans soaked in the adulation.
A team which was assembled after several first-team players left, beat India 2-1 to register its first-ever win on Indian soil. | Photo Credit: PTI
Before this international break, not many would have given Afghanistan – ranked 158th in the world – a chance to even register a point in Group B, due to the internal turmoil within the football ecosystem in its country.
It was a huge moment when Afghanistan beat Mongolia over two legs in October to qualify for the second round. But it all quickly turned sour a few days later. Before the next round, 21 players boycotted the national team over their differences with the Afghanistan Football Federation.
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The players alleged mistreatment from the federation and listed three key issues as reasons to turn their backs on the national team; failure to pay wages, the decision to shift its home base to Saudi Arabia from Tajikistan and the federation’s decision to appoint a new head coach without the players’ consultation.
Eight days after his arrival, the new head coach Ashley Westwood had to scramble to assemble a squad for the qualifying matches against reigning Asian Cup champion Qatar and Kuwait. The patch-up job resulted in 8-1 and 4-0 defeats, respectively.
Faysal Shayesteh, among the key players to refuse to return to the national team, told Sportstar, “It was difficult, but this boycott is not about us - it is bigger than that. I have been playing for more than 10 years for the national team. I have seen coaches come and go and presidents change, but nothing has changed in terms of local players that we have to develop.
“Every time a new coach or president comes, everything starts over again. The national team doesn’t develop. There is no basic organisation to continue and develop. This boycott is a means to change things in a good way for the future of Afghanistan football.”
While he wanted Afghanistan to put in a good show against India, Shayesteh felt Stimac’s men, ranked 41 placed above, had six points for the taking.
“I hope for a good result for Afghanistan but to be honest, I expect(ed) India to win. Most of the players in the national team are not in their best shape compared to the Indian team, who are at the end of their season. They are fitter and stronger. I expect(ed) India to win both matches,” he said.
Now, with four points and placed third in the group, Afghanistan has given itself a realistic chance of reaching the third round of the qualifiers.
The quick turnaround must be credited to Westwood and his work behind the scenes. Senior player Haroon Amiri said before the match that the Englishman, who previously coached Bengaluru FC and ATK (interim), came in at the ‘lowest point in Afghanistan football’.
“I didn’t get an opportunity to thank him. He came at such short notice and took over the national team when we were not in a good situation. So I want to thank him and his staff. What he did for us in this short period is unbelievable. I don’t think without you, we [this group of players] will be here,” said Amiri, with Westwood sat next to him.
Amiri (centre) along with other players during the practice session ahead of the World Cup qualifying match against India in Guwahati. | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar / The Hindu
Amiri, who played his last game for Afghanistan on Tuesday, was a key figure in assisting Westwood to bring together this squad before the qualifiers against India.
“We had to build this team from zero. All the boys boycotted the national team. We had to work hard to bring the players back. We played with the local boys against Qatar and Kuwait but now we have some good players back. We had to manage flight tickets and hotel bookings for several players before the national camp,” Amiri pointed out.
Westwood had previously never undertaken an assignment of this nature where he had to juggle coaching duties and logistical challenges in forming a group of players, required to play at the highest level.
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“It’s been an incredible amount of work,” explained Westwood. “I had the help of Amiri, my assistant Matt Holland and physio Scott Tomkins. We are relying on FIFA and other countries to help us financially. So everything is last minute with us. We travelled to Saudi Arabia on the March 10th. But two days before that, me, Amiri and Holland spent 24 hours on the phone.
“We had to book almost 350 flights for every player and staff. Other than coaching, it’s been really hard. We had to speak to the players and convince them to come back. We have to promise certain things and deliver them. The football match is the easy stuff, but the logistics and the psychology of the game is outside of football but it’s part of the job.”
In the last three months, Westwood and his team convinced several players to reverse their boycott. Barring senior players Shayesteh, Farshad Noor, Noor Hussin, Najim Haidary and Imran Hydary, the rest returned to boost the team before the matches against India.
Westwood said the door was not closed for the five. “They know where I am, if they want to call me, they can. I don’t really know what exactly it [the reasons for the boycott] was but it was before my time. All I can say is under me you will be guaranteed better conditions,” he vowed.
“From November to now, the spirit is very, very good. We have a great camaraderie and morale. We try hard for one another. It’s no secret. My style works sometimes, but sometimes it doesn’t,” explained Westwood.
When Afghanistan struck the second goal, the local crowd was stunned into silence. But by the end of the night, its players were were lauded with Viking claps, usually reserved for the home team. | Photo Credit: PTI
Afghanistan has several skilful players, who ply their trade across several rungs in Europe and Australia. And Westwood used the long training camp at his disposal to drill his methods into them.
The result was evident on the pitch when the players worked hard, making it difficult for India to break them down for over 180 minutes in both Abha and Guwahati. Even when Afghanistan went behind in the first half on Tuesday, it didn’t lose control of the game and continued to pose a threat.
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In the second half, Westwood switched things up and brought on forward Fareed Sadat to employ a long ball tactic for the tall man to get on the end of. This caused all sorts of trouble for India’s backline with Afghanistan players getting behind them easily. Afghanistan’s equaliser and the penalty for the eventual match-winner came from aerial deliveries, which India couldn’t contend with.
When Sharif Mukhammad struck his spot-kick into the back of the net, the local crowd was stunned into silence. But by the end of the night, the Afghanistan players were admired for their performance and were lauded with Viking claps, usually reserved for the home team.
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