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Indian football coach Stephen Constantine has termed the national team's rise to 96th in the latest FIFA rankings as a "rough guide to their overall progress as a team" and asked Indian fans to guard against complacency, especially with qualification for the 2019 Asian Cup still in the balance. India, who were ranked 100 last month ahead of wins over Nepal in an international friendly and against Kyrgyzstan in the Asian Cup qualifiers, are at their second-highest ranking ever, with the previous best of 94th coming in February 1996. India are now 12th in Asia, but Constantine felt a target date for qualifying for the World Cup wasn't realistic just yet. "We have so much to do at the youth level and developing a pathway for the young players to go and play," Constantine told ESPN. "An example is, where are our Under-19s going to play once they have finished with the national team? The same question is also applicable to the Under-17 World Cup squad." Constantine agreed with national captain Sunil Chhetri's assessment of a 1-0 win over Guam during the World Cup qualification campaign in 2015 as a turning point for the team's self-belief, following which India have won 12 of their 14 matches -- including an unofficial friendly against Bhutan -- a run that has seen them rise 77 places in the rankings. Constantine pointed to a few other wins along the way that have given the team momentum. "Winning the SAFF Championship [in Trivandrum in January 2016] was huge; against a very good Afghan team where we won in extra time; the wins against Laos in the [Asian Cup qualifying] play-offs was another big win and away from home, another issue that we had in the past. These games gave us confidence," he said. "I must say also that the players' trust in me and the staff has been a big factor. They have done everything I have asked of them and more." Constantine underscored the importance of being among the 24 teams at the 2019 edition of the continental championships, where India last featured in 2011. India have begun with successive wins in Group A over Myanmar away and Kyrgyzstan at home. They face Macau away on September 5. "I feel they can be as good as they want to be and hopefully we can make it to the Asian Cup finals and then the stage is set for them to really show how far we have come and what India has to offer. The main thing is we are moving up and that is not a bad thing," he said. Read Stephen Constantine's full interview here.
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