The Indian National Football Team were on the wrong end of a 6-0 thrashing earlier this week. Igor Stimac’s men suffered from their biggest defeat in over a decade, going down to a ruthless United Arab Emirates side. However, one foreign Indian Super League star has come to the defence of the Blue Tigers, asking for patience on their behalf.
India lost 6-0 to UAE earlier this week courtesy of an Ali Mabkhout hat-trick. The Blue Tigers were completely hapless against the Asian giants and suffered their biggest defeat in a decade. However, Indian Super League, and FC Goa, star Edu Bedia has thrown his support behind the team. In an Instagram post, Bedia commented on several things – from the performance against UAE to the ground-level infrastructure in Indian football.
The India game was a hard blow of reality for Indian football. I think the Indian coach is doing a fantastic job to improve the young players and giving them opportunities with the national team,
Bedia wrote on Instagram.
The Spanish midfielder argued that while the Blue Tigers lost heavily, they did so to a side ranked much higher than them in the FIFA rankings. He also directed attention towards the details of the loss rather than fixating on the scoreline.
Bedia gave his views about nationalizing foreign players in the same post. However, he made the counter-argument that investments should go towards grassroots infrastructure and coaching.
There is talk that it would be good to nationalize a foreign player to raise the level of the national team, but we must look more towards the long term,
he wrote.
It would be more efficient and wise to invest in coaches and infrastructure in the lower levels. And in a few years, the growth and improvement in Indian football will be there for all to see. I really think that India is a future powerhouse in world football. That though, will need loads of work and patience.
At present, there are some important games on the horizon for India. Stimac’s men will face Qatar in June in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup second round qualifiers. They will also take on Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the same competition.
