India vs Malaysia: 'Fifa Ranking is A Lie,' Says Manolo Marquez as National Team Plays Last Match Before Asian Qualifiers in March

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India vs Malaysia friendly match is all set to take place at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on November 18 and coach Manolo Marquez remains in the hunt for his first win with the Indian national team.

In fact, it's now exactly one year since the current FIFA World No. 125 won a match -- memorably the highs of defeating Kuwait at their den. The onus, though, is not on the Spanish coach, who took over from a struggling Igor Stimac following his bitter exit that saw India miss out on an elusive third-round spot in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

This was right after a goalless campaign at the Asian Cup at the beginning of the year. Manolo Marquez, on the other hand, is barely three matches old into the job with a team in transition that faced two quality opponents in Syria (lost 3-0) and Vietnam (1-1) after a goal-less debut draw against lowly Mauritius. The negative outcomes didn't just stretch India's winless run to 11 matches it also saw them slump to 125th spot in FIFA Ranking; a new low since July 2023's climb of 99.

Coach Manolo, however, is not willing to read too much into the rankings, calling it a 'lie'. "FIFA Ranking is a lie, the worst team in Africa (presumably current African champions Ivory Coast - World No. 40) is better than others but are ranked lower than them," said Manolo during the pre-match press conference on the eve of the India vs Malaysia friendly. "We are ahead of Cyprus (127) in ranking but we are not better than them. That's because you lose an official game, you lose a lot of points, you win one friendly game, you add a lot of points.

"If I only think about ranking, we will never be competing with the best teams in the world. You check our recent games, Mauritius were worse than us in the ranking (were ranked 55 spots below India a that time), Vietnam (119) were ahead of us but both the games saw equal fights."

The Spanish coach's approach may surprise many of the Indian fans, who once were made to believe that the team's improvement to the 97th spot in the FIFA Ranking is an indication of the upliftment of the game in the country while many claimed to be the fathers of the 'success'.

At that time, little regards were given to the fact that the momentum in ranking was built by defeating the likes of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Macau and Mauritius. The false sense of growth eventually unravelled at the Asian Cup 2019 when the Blue Tigers ran out of steam a match after defeating Thailand 4-1 under then-coach Stephen Constantine.

Can Manolo be a magician?

Back to the present, coach Manolo is expected to be a magician and find his winning team as he returns to the helm of the team after the Vietnam draw a month ago. In fact he is expected to pull a rabbit out of the hat as this is also the last time the national team players assemble before the Asian Cup third-round qualifiers in March next year.

When myKhel asked how far is the Spanish coach away from finding his winning team, the gaffer suggested his boys are not there yet but believes the picture will be much clearer by March.

"After this game, our next one will be in four months. This match will show the reality of our leagues, where they stand with the fitness of the players against a quality opponent. Right now, some players aren't in their best form. Some have done very well, while others haven't.

"If you compare the current squad with the earlier ones, most of the players are still the same. The focus now is to identify the players performing well up to March because that's when the ISL playoffs will begin. By the end of the season, we should have a strong, competitive squad ready."

While the Asian Qualifiers are still away, the Indian football team and fans will look to gain momentum by ending the year-long, winless streak. For Manolo Marquez, the 90 minutes are only an opportunity to test his evolving squad, identify key performers, and lay the foundation for a period that may define his duration. However, his heart is at the right place as his focus remains on genuine progress rather than superficial milestones. Here's to hoping that the 90 minutes will do the magic!