GUWAHATI: For Indian coach Stephen Constantine, it's time to "move to the next stage of qualifiers." For his goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, it's an opportunity to "finish off the contest." For veteran striker Sunil Chhetri, it's about starting from the scratch because it's "still 0-0."
Whatever the trio's personal objectives, India will host
Laos
in the return leg of their Asian Cup first-round qualifying play-off here on Tuesday with a bigger goal in mind.
India, No 163 in Fifa rankings, will enter the
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
here with a one-goal advantage, thanks to
Jeje Lalpekhlua
's strike in the first leg in Vientiane five days ago.
India's preparation for the two-legged contest has been hit by injuries to several key players, forcing the likes of midfielders Cavin Lobo, Pranoy Halder and striker
Robin Singh to sit out. Constantine, however, put things in perspective by saying on Monday: "We have to qualify for the next round because if we don't win this we have nothing to play for. That's the objective."
The last time India beat an opponent in a two-legged qualifier was way back in 2001 when
Baichung Bhutia
and I.M Vijayan had combined to subdue
Brunei
1-0 and 5-0 in a World Cup preliminary (Asian Zone) match.
India's failure to replicate that feat in the past 15 years surprised Constantine, who chose to indulge in a bit of introspection.
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