National coach Stephen Constantine believes the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) has played a huge role in the Indian team’s recent climb up the FIFA rankings. Following their 4-1 win against Puerto Rico in September earlier this year, the Blue Tigers moved up 11 places to register their best ranking (137th) in the last six years, and Constantine credited the Hero ISL in unequivocal terms for this improvement.“A complete young breed of Indian footballers has come up and if tapped at the right time it could be immensely beneficial to the Indian footballing scenario. I am keeping an eye on players’ performances in the ISL. My assistant coaches are also attending matches in various venues to scout more talent for the national team. We have been tracking some players and the ISL provides us with the platform to judge how ready they are,” the Englishman told News 18.“So many foreign recruits who have played at much higher levels are coming to India to play in the ISL. They are here to share their experience and do it in a positive manner. It’s now up to the Indian players to grasp as much as possible from them. It is a unique opportunity and one needs to make the most of it. You won’t get such a chance every day.“The ISL also allows the Indian players to train under quality foreign coaches. A player can only improve when he trains under a quality coach. I expect my players to approach it positively, be inquisitive, learn as much as possible to add expertise and more value to Indian football as a whole."The national team’s displays of late seem to have heralded in a new-found belief in the side, and Constantine believes it will stand the team in good stead at the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in March 2017."We will be playing the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in March 2017, the draw for which will take place in January 2017. We will go in with a chance to have a go at qualifying for the Asian Cup in 2019. The boys have settled down into international football and know what is expected from them to take the next step,” he said.The 54-year-old also insisted that the influx of youngsters and reduction of the average age of the side during his tenure has greatly helped the team. "We have introduced 30 new boys to international football and though not all maybe playing consistently, unless you give them a chance it is impossible to judge how they would react to high intensity international football. The average age of the team has gone down from over 30 to around 24 and if you look, this is the nucleus of the Indian national team for the next decade or so," said Constantine.
