India vs Tajikistan: Belief is back in the system under Khalid Jamil

What’s common between the Indian football team’s win against Tajikistan in their first match under new coach Khalid Jamil and lodgepole pines? Nothing except the symbolism of hope and resilience. Lodgepole pines, native to western North America, release their seeds only after exposure to the extreme heat of forest fires. The very fire that destroys them becomes the catalyst for their next generation.

It may seem like a stretch, but the parallel is hard to ignore when thinking about how a crisis can give birth to hope, positivity, resilience, and new beginnings.

Indian football has endured its own damaging crisis in recent times, traumatised by something as vicious and destructive as wildfires. The streak of fiascos at the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the uncertainty surrounding the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League, and the alarming decline in the Indian football team’s results have all pushed the sport into a very dark place in the country.

How then do you come out of such dullness? By being like the lodgepole pines. They don’t give up in unforgiving fire, and neither should you. You have to keep the belief to turn things around. That belief, coupled with hard work, became the bedrock of Khalid Jamil’s debut win as India coach, and that too against a higher-ranked side.

One thing is for sure….

Khalid Jamil has got the players fighting for the badge again! This level of passion was missing from the national team under Manolo and Stimac!#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/nOr5PSdQej

— ISL & I-League Transfer News (@indiantransfer) August 29, 2025

For all his domestic success, the former Indian midfielder had never coached at the international stage. Here he was, up against the world’s 106th-ranked team, while India sit at 133, their lowest position in nine years.

Imperfect preparation, perfect start

The preparation for the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 was far from ideal as well: a 10-day training camp in Bengaluru and no players from the ISL winner Mohun Bagan Super Giant. Yet, Khalid, who played 15 matches for India, never complained. He knew his task would be nothing less than a baptism by fire even before he was appointed India’s coach.

After a failed experiment with Manolo Marquez and a wretched run since November 2023 in which India lost seven out of eight matches against the lower-ranked sides, a financially struggling AIFF was forced to look inwards for an Indian coach. In much better circumstances, Khalid may not have gotten the job.

But once he did, he fell back on his most trusted coaching philosophies: create unity, spread positivity, and give hope to the players.

As a coach, the 48-year-old Khalid Jamil’s earliest success was escaping relegation with Mumbai FC in multiple seasons of the I-League. His league victory with Aizawl FC in 2017 is the biggest underdog story in Indian football. At NorthEast United, he became the first Indian in ISL to coach a team on a full-time basis and helped Jamshedpur FC reach the Super Cup final and ISL semi-finals last season.

But one thing that has always been common with Jamil is a lack of resources. His teams always have their back against the wall. Khalid has never been a favourite of the owners who like to spend. He is the preferred choice of those who are miser. Hence, his coaching is more about making the best out of what is available rather than bringing the best and coaching them.

The first war cry Khalid rendered after the national camp began with just 22 players (usually it’s in the 30s) was that we need to be united as a team. That had to be the foundation for a team and sport in doldrums.

“It is my pleasure to serve the country,” he said on 17 August. “It has always been my dream to do this, and it has now come true, so that feels very good…The important thing is that we remain united as a team, because this will be India’s first-ever participation in the CAFA Nations Cup, and it will be a good opportunity for us to play stronger opponents. Therefore, for the national interest, we would like to request co-operation from clubs to release players on time, to ensure their adequate participation during the preparatory camp.”

Even in his first press conference as India coach, Khalid didn’t forget to lay out his motto: belief and hard work.

“The players know that when they go inside, they have to have belief. Everybody is working hard, so that is a good part. They have to be mentally strong, believe in themselves and we must play as a team. That is the first motto for me,” Khalid said on 26 August.

On 29 August, his boys did exactly the same. For the first time since November 2023, the boys in blue played like tigers. They fought hard for the ball, put pressure on their opponents, and defended as if their lives were on stake.

A complacent Tajikistan didn’t expect such an urgency from the visiting team in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 opener as India raced to an unbelievable 2-0 lead within the first 13 minutes. Both goals were a result of some abysmal defensive mistakes, but India were the hungrier side in the opening minutes.

What a start to the Khalid Jamil era 🔥#TJKIND #CAFANationsCup2025 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/wIzT36meb9

— FanCode (@FanCode) August 29, 2025

The Tajiks soon found their bearing and started dominating the match as Shahrom Samiev pushed Sandesh Jhingan off the ball to score a comeback goal in the 23rd minute.

But the comeback was stopped here as returning Gurpreeet Singh Sandhu put in an inspired performance in the second half, making a couple of massive saves against Alisher Jalilov and later keeping out a Rustam Soirov controversial penalty.

Gurpreet: India’s Impenetrable Wall 🧱#TJKIND #CAFANationsCup2025 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/s1NjvJnRw6

— FanCode (@FanCode) August 29, 2025

It took some dogged defending, so typical of a Jamil team, to eke out a 2-1 win, India’s first over Tajikistan in 17 years. Was it a tactical masterclass or simply a park-the-bus job? That depends on how you choose to look at it, but the performance made one thing clear: the players wanted to give the fans back home a sense of hope.

We know it would not be very reasonable to expect a dramatic turnaround based on just one win, especially with the next match against Iran, the 20th-ranked team in the world. Indian football has seen many false dawns, so it is always better to tread with caution. But you can’t deny that belief is back in the system under Khalid Jamil.

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