Think Australia vs Namibia in South Africa last year and you have an idea of the mismatch on the cards at Saitama tomorrow when India take on Japan in the qualification to the football world cup. If ever a team needed the help of football’s glorious uncertainties, it is the visitors.India, who rank 139 in the FIFA listings, are up against a country ranked 25 and which two years ago stunned the world with their performance on home soil against the best. Bhaichung Bhutia would effectively be the lone David up against 11 Goliaths.Not that there can’t be a surprise. This is a time, after all, when Maldives recorded the shock of the millenium by holding South Korea and Latvia left Turkey cold and out of Euro 2004, so Stephen Constantine’s men have every reason to believe in hope.The problem is, India haven’t prepared as they should have. Players were committed to their clubs in the domestic league and all they had was a 15-day conditioning camp. India were hardly impressive in their warm-ups, drawing against Indonesia’s U-20s and then the senior side.And the group qualifying matches have been a roller-coaster: the 1-0 win over Singapore offset by a 5-1 thrashing from Oman.So do Ashim Biswas, Sameer Naik, Rennedy Singh and Deepak Mondol have it in them to pull off an upset? The odds say no — and those who defy the odds could end up with a smart pay-off.
