Key tasks facing Khalid Jamil as Indian football team head coach
The new head coach steps into the role at a pivotal time with major challenges and opportunities ahead for the Blue Tigers.
Khalid Jamil’s appointment as head coach of the Indian men’s national football team on Friday marked a historic moment. Not just because he’s the first Indian to take the role since 2012, but because he steps in at a time when the Blue Tigers are in urgent need of direction, belief and revival.
A highly respected figure in Indian football, Jamil has made his mark in both the I-League and the Indian Super League (ISL). He famously led Aizawl FC to a historic I-League title in 2017 and then enjoyed impressive stints in the ISL, most notably taking NorthEast United FC to the playoffs in the 2020-21 season and, more recently, guiding Jamshedpur FC to the ISL semi-finals and Kalinga Super Cup final in 2024-25.
Jamil’s track record in Indian football speaks for itself, and now, with the reins of the national team in his hands, he has an opportunity to shape a new narrative for the Blue Tigers.
As he steps into the national team role, here are three key tasks that await him.
1) Get the team scoring goals
India’s biggest immediate challenge is improving their output in front of goal. The Blue Tigers have not found the net in their last three matches. They played out a goalless draw against Bangladesh in their opening game of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, followed by a narrow 1-0 loss to Hong Kong. They had suffered a 2-0 friendly defeat to Thailand in between.
Their last goal came in a 3-0 friendly win over the Maldives at home in March, which also remains their only win in the calendar year so far. Under Marquez, India scored five goals across eight matches, finding the net in just three of those games.
Watch: Khalid Jamil opens up about his football journey
With key fixtures coming up in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, India will need to rediscover their attacking rhythm. While the team has shown solidity at the back and moments of promise going forward, converting chances and maintaining composure in the final third will be an area Jamil will look to address.
His teams in the ISL have often shown a knack for scoring in transition and being clinical with limited opportunities, traits that could serve India well in the months to come.
2) Get India’s AFC Asian Cup qualifiers campaign back on track
The AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers are a major focus for the national team and India have ground to make up. After two games in Group C, the Blue Tigers sit at the bottom of the standings with one point, having drawn against Bangladesh and lost to Hong Kong.
The road ahead includes crucial fixtures against Singapore in October, a doubleheader that could prove pivotal to the campaign.
Read: India to feature in CAFA Nations Cup 2025
Before that, Jamil’s first assignment will be the CAFA Nations Cup, where India are set to face Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan. These games will serve as valuable preparation not just to build chemistry within the squad, but also to fine-tune systems ahead of the qualifiers.
India had previously qualified for back-to-back editions of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time, the second one coming under Igor Stimac and maintaining that momentum will be key. Jamil's task will be to steady the campaign and put India back in contention for a spot in the continental tournament.
3) Bring structure and efficiency to India’s play
One of the biggest tasks for Jamil will be to instil a sense of tactical clarity in the Indian team. Under former head coach Igor Stimac, India attempted to transition towards a more possession-based style of play. While that approach had its moments, it didn’t yield the best results. The team often struggled to control matches or convert possession into meaningful goal-scoring chances. A similar pattern was seen more recently under Marquez, who also encouraged more ball progression from the back.
Jamil, however, is a different profile of a coach. He has made a name for himself in Indian football as a pragmatic tactician, one who builds teams that are difficult to break down and highly efficient on the counter. His memorable run with NorthEast United FC in the 2020-21 season showed how organised and effective his teams can be, something he repeated by guiding Jamshedpur FC to the playoffs in 2024-25.
India need a clear blueprint to fall back on, especially in crunch matches where margins are fine. If Jamil can build a team that knows what it’s trying to do both with and without the ball, he’ll have solved a major piece of the puzzle.
