It’s the kind of ‘fact’ that is shared by casual football fans, the ones who wake up once in four years and realise that such a sport exists. They tend to be the harshest critics, because disparaging something is easy when you’re unaware of ground realities. But over the past couple of days, this pearl of wisdom has been shared by hundreds of thousands of Indian football fans.
Ahead of Qatar and Jordan contesting the Asian Cup final on Saturday night, this nugget of trivia reminds us that in August 2018, India (96) were ranked higher than both countries. Now, this is not factually wrong. The numbers are correct and easily verifiable. But it’s equally true that data without context is utterly useless. So, let’s look at the stories behind those numbers.
Qatar established the Aspire Academy in Al Rayyan in 2004. Apart from targetting sporting excellence, it provides an education for those who train there. By 2014, one of the first batches, which included Akram Afif — scorer of the winning goal in the final — and Almoez Ali had taken Qatar to its first U-20 Asian Cup title. And no, they didn’t go it with foreign mercenaries. Afif may have Yemeni-Somali roots, but he was born in Doha, while Ali, with a Sudanese mother, has lived in Qatar since he was a small boy.
In 2019, the core of that youth side, mostly Aspire graduates, led Qatar to the most dominant of continental title wins, scoring 19 goals and conceding just one. This year, with Hassan Al-Haydos, their greatest-ever player, fading, Afif’s brilliance has dragged Qatar into the final. Ali has been well short of the standards he set in 2019 when he finished with nine goals, but his poacher’s finish in a semi-final that Iran dominated was a reminder that there’s simply no substitute for quality in front of goal.
As for Jordan, they were the Asian Cup quarter-finalists as long ago as 2004. They drew with South Korea and went out to Japan, the eventual winners, only on penalties. That summer, their FIFA ranking went as high as 37. In 2011, Jordan beat Saudi Arabia en route to the last eight, where they fell to Uzbekistan.
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
So, are the rankings really a sham? Yes, and no. They act as a barometer of a team’s progress and decline but tell you nothing about quality. Qatar spent much of 2017 and 2018 playing much stronger sides in preparation for the Asian Cup. India routinely racks up victories against neighbouring nations, few of whom have a robust football culture. Two or three defeats are enough to send the ranking plummeting, just as a sequence of wins, even against poor opposition, can see a big upward leap.
In the current rankings, for example, the USA are at No. 12. But does anyone who watches football believe that they’re a better team than Hungary, who have notched up away wins over England (4-0) and Germany (1-0) in the past 20 months? The Hungarians, who have the brilliant Dominik Szoboszlai as their midfield fulcrum, are ranked No. 27.
Instead of obsessing over numbers that don’t matter, Indian football needs to address administrative and structural issues. Where is our Aspire Academy? When can we even dream of seeing the kind of goals that Al-Haydos and Afif have scored at this Asian Cup?
Jordan may be a surprise finalist, but there was absolutely nothing fortuitous about their victory against Korea, who didn’t even manage a shot on target in the 90 minutes. Even without the kind of resources that Qatar have access to, they have invested in their youth and reaped rewards. It’s not by accident that Musa Al-Taamari, scorer of the second wonder goal in the semi-final, plays for Montpellier – French champions in 2011-12 when Olivier Giroud’s goals led them to glory.
So, the next time you share something, think twice about context. In isolation, numbers mean nothing. Qatar is poised to complete a dramatic resurgence after the World Cup debacle of 2022, and Jordan have shown that.
Also Read: India Football, Money, and Black Holes