After Panama and Brazil, AIFF adds THIS former World Champion to face…

Indian football is set for a busy schedule in the upcoming international window as the Blue Tigers will face three strong FIFA World Cup playing nations in the space of 10 days. After Panama and Brazil, two-time world champions Uruguay have now been added to the list.

India will face Panama on September 26 in Bengaluru before taking on five-time world champions Brazil at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on October 3. Three days later, on October 6, Uruguay will arrive at the same venue for another high-profile friendly. The three matches will form a demanding run for the Indian side during the FIFA international window.

Uruguay are two-time world champions, having won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 and lifted the trophy again in 1950. They are currently ranked 20th in the world. The fixture will give Indian players a chance to test themselves against another established football nation after the much-anticipated Brazil game. orlando-books.blog

Also Read: Harmanpreet’s late goal not enough as Belgium beat India in shoot-out

India had initially been invited to take part in the first-ever FIFA ASEAN Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Indonesia. India were drawn alongside the hosts, Singapore and Malaysia.

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AIFF initially planned to take part in the tournament while also playing Brazil, even considering separate squads for the two competitions. However, the plan was eventually dropped because of the clash in dates. The ASEAN Cup final was scheduled for October 4, while the Brazil friendly was fixed for October 3.

FIFA’s rules also doesn’t allow sending separate squads.

Instead of making their first appearance in the FIFA ASEAN Cup, AIFF chose the Brazil fixture and then began adding more international friendlies. Panama was confirmed first, followed by Uruguay. Panama, ranked 44th in the world, also featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making the September 26 game another useful test for India.

The national team will miss the chance to play in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, but it will instead get three matches against World Cup-level opposition at home.

The Brazil game will attract the biggest attention but Uruguay’s visit adds another important fixture to the calendar. For the players, these matches will be a chance to gain experience against teams with a much higher standing in world football.

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant were among some of India’s cricket stars, who invoked the festive spirit of Raksha Bandhan, in their own way on Friday.

Tendulkar Instagrammed this snap while being blessed by sister Savita after being tied the rakhi.

Virat Kohli and sister Bhawna. Pic/Bhawna’s Instagram

Kohli’s sister Bhawna posted a picture of the rakhi on her brother’s wrist, with the caption: “No matter where life takes us my prayers will always find you.”

Rishabh Pant with sister Sakshi. Pic/Sakshi’s Instagram

Meanwhile, Pant’s sister Sakshi, shared a video of the siblings through the years.

India finished eighth at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup, ending their campaign with a 3-3 draw against Belgium before losing 4-3 in the shootout. The final result was dramatic, but it also summed up a tournament in which India showed flashes of quality without finding the consistency needed to go deep into the competition.

The disappointing part is that India did not enter the World Cup looking like a team searching for answers. Their performances in the European leg of the Pro League had offered plenty of encouragement. Wins over the Netherlands and Germany, along with a draw against England, showed that Craig Fulton’s side could compete with the best. Their defensive structure was organised, transitions were dangerous and the team had a clear understanding of how it wanted to play.

That same clarity was not always visible in the World Cup.

India’s biggest strength under Fulton has been their ability to defend patiently and then attack quickly after winning possession. It worked during the Olympic cycle and had produced results against top opposition. But a World Cup demands more than one dependable route to success.

The turning point came against England.

India’s 4-2 defeat put them in a difficult position in the next phase because of the tournament structure. From that point onwards, simply staying compact and waiting for opportunities was not enough. India needed to take greater control of matches, score more regularly and take risks.

Against the Netherlands, they were forced to chase the game. Against Argentina, the pressure was even greater. India needed goals and needed the match to go their way. The problem was that the attacking version of the team never looked as comfortable as the side that had been built around defensive solidity and counter-attacking hockey.

That raises the biggest question surrounding the campaign: where was the second option?

There is nothing wrong with having a clear identity. In fact, India’s improvement under Fulton has largely come from establishing one. The concern is that the team did not appear to have another equally well-rehearsed method when opponents took away the space required for their transitions.

The midfield became particularly important in this regard.

When India pushed more players forward, the gaps in the middle became more dangerous. Losing possession could leave the midfield exposed, with defenders and midfielders having to cover significant ground to recover their positions. Against a team capable of moving the ball quickly, those moments could turn into chances at the other end.

India also struggled to maintain pressure for long periods. They could produce strong passages, but sustaining attacks against well-organised defences remained difficult. More possession did not necessarily translate into better opportunities, and once the initial attacking momentum disappeared, India sometimes looked short of ideas.

Yet the campaign should not be viewed entirely negatively.

There were individual performances that offered encouragement. The team showed character in several matches and refused to surrender even when results went against them. The comeback against Belgium in the final classification game was a perfect example. Two goals from Harmanpreet Singh, including the late equaliser, took the match to a shootout and gave India a chance to finish seventh.

They eventually lost, but the fight was evident.

The bigger issue is what India take forward from this tournament.

The defence-to-attack model remains useful and has already delivered significant results. It does not need to be abandoned. What needs to improve is the ability to change the rhythm of a game when the opposition refuses to allow those counter-attacking situations.

India need a midfield structure that can handle sustained possession, better protection when full-backs move forward and more attacking patterns that can be relied upon under pressure.

The World Cup did not expose a team without a system. It exposed a team that had not yet developed enough alternatives to its best system.

That is perhaps the clearest takeaway from India’s eighth-place finish. The next step for Fulton is not to throw away what has worked. It is to build another layer on top of it as they now eye direct qualification for the LA Olympics in 2028 through the Asian Games next month.

Also Read: Craig Fulton accepts the heat but vows to set things right

The post India’s World Cup Campaign: Where Did It Go Wrong? appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

The Indian men’s hockey team finished eighth at the FIH World Cup after a hard-fought loss to co-hosts Belgium on Friday. The match ended 3-3 in normal time, and then Belgium won the shoot-out 4-3.

India fight back through Abhishek and Harmanpreet, but Belgium win the shoot-out

It was an exciting game from start to finish. Abhishek scored the first goal for India. Later, captain Harmanpreet Singh scored two more goals to make it 3-3. For Belgium, Roman Duvekot, Hugo Labouchere and Nicolas de Kerpel each found the net.

When the shoot-out began, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek all scored for India. But Belgium were better in the penalty competition and took the win. India could not get the victory they hoped for and ended their World Cup campaign in eighth place.

India started the match like a storm. Abhishek scored a brilliant goal in just the first six minutes and put India in front. The whole team looked full of energy and ready to dominate.

But Belgium hit back like lightning. In only one minute they scored two goals and suddenly took the lead. The game turned upside down in a flash.

Harmanpreet Singh then scored a big goal in the 31st minute and made the score equal again. Still, Belgium did not stop. De Kerpel scored early in the fourth quarter and put Belgium ahead once more.

India never gave up. In the very last seconds of the match, Harmanpreet scored an amazing goal that made it 3-3. The crowd went wild as the game went into a shoot-out.

In the shoot-out, Belgium kept their cool and won. India fought with all their heart but finished the World Cup in eighth place.

On the occasion of Major Dhyan Chand’s 121st birth anniversary, as we celebrate the 15th National Sports Day, I would like to shed some light on an area in the sports ecosystem that deserves a bit more attention. I say this as someone who has covered a few national and international sporting events.

We in India are starved of champions. Major Dhyan Chand, perhaps one of the greatest athletes ever, is perhaps unknown to several members of Gen Z. It is not entirely their fault, but also a reflection of the ecosystem around them, where we haven’t told these stories enough.

If you have attended a cricket press conference or watched one on television, players like Shubman Gill, or someone like Gautam Gambhir, would anyway be expected to speak well and articulate their answers. But what stands out is how even the younger players and newcomers are so well versed in dealing with the media. They know how to frame their answers, converse and express their thoughts.

The BCCI has a proper, structured media team that works closely with its players. They work hard with the players and prepare them for media interactions. Perhaps it was not always the case, but it has been a gradual process through which the system has developed.

In football, the AIFF has a media team of its own which trains the players, especially the young ones, for media interactions. Rugby India, too, is doing a good job with its media team. Its social media posts involving the athletes attract a considerable audience to the sport.

However, there are several other sports in India that perhaps require more attention than the two sports mentioned above.

If you consider para-sports, don’t consider the likes of Sumit Antil or Yogesh Kathuniya. They are established stars and elites in their own right. They have received their fair share of media attention, and perhaps the nation knows their stories.

But on several occasions, especially when you go to cover multi-sport events, a majority of athletes do not know how to respond to media questions.

Even if you try to get their stories out in a quiet place away from the lights and glare of the event, most of them are reluctant to open up — not by choice, but by nature. Perhaps they are shy or simply not confident enough to face the camera.

It’s not their fault. They are not there to attend press conferences or interviews.

What becomes noticeable when you cover international multi-sport events is the difference in how athletes from some of the leading sporting nations handle media interactions. Athletes from countries such as Australia and the UK, even those competing at junior levels, often seem much more comfortable when speaking to journalists. They understand the basic media protocols and, more importantly, know how to put their thoughts and feelings into words.

That is something we need to look at.

And this is not about the English language. It is about being able to express yourself. An athlete can speak in their own language and it can be translated. The point is whether they are able to communicate what they are feeling, what they have gone through and what the moment means to them.

On multiple occasions, journalists struggle to get more than one-word answers from athletes who are perhaps in the early days of their careers. There are seniors as well who face the same difficulty.

Again, this is not the fault of the athletes. They are not there to be media-ready on their own. It is the responsibility of the federations to have their own media teams, who can train these players to speak to the media so that their stories can be documented in better ways.

It’s not only about sending reports through the respective PR agencies. An in-house media team would allow the media manager to interact with the athletes regularly. Over time, they would become familiar with each other and, more importantly, the athletes would become comfortable with the people working around them. That candidness can help them open up, especially because many of these athletes come from humble backgrounds. In the process, they would also become more comfortable and better prepared to face the global media.

There have been instances when, after an athlete has won a medal, the global media has wanted to speak to them but has failed to get a constructive answer.

It was not about the language, as mentioned earlier, either. It could have been translated. The problem was that the athlete was unable to express his or her feelings, explain what the moment meant to them and, ultimately, tell their own story.

And that is where I feel we are missing out.

This piece deliberately does not mention any particular sport, athlete or incident. It is not about singling out anyone or pointing fingers at a particular federation. Rather, it is a recollection of several instances experienced over the course of covering different national and international sporting events, which have repeatedly brought this aspect of our sporting ecosystem to notice.

On this National Sports Day, my two-pice advice to national sports federations that do not have a proper media team of their own and solely rely on PR agencies is simple: kindly develop an in-house media team that can work with the athletes on this front as well.

Because preparing an athlete is not only about preparing them to win. It is also about preparing them to tell the world about that win.

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