Surprise win raises India's World Cup hopes

India head into Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Yemen hoping to pull off their second major upset in eight days.

Last Sunday's 1-0 victory over group eight favourites United Arab Emirates has boosted morale as India try to reach the second qualifying round in the Asian zone.

They are joint leaders of the group with Yemen who beat Brunei Darussalam 5-0 in the only other match played so far. The top team qualifies for the second round.

UAE reached the 1990 World Cup finals and are ranked sixth in Asia to India's 22nd. But Indian coach Sukhwinder Singh is keeping his team's success in perspective.

"The victory is nice. It was one good match. We have five more games left," he said by phone from Bangalore where his team are preparing to play Yemen.

Singh said India could not afford to take Yemen lightly after their convincing win over Brunei Darussalam.

"Not much is known about them. They are a new opponent."

The Indian players have been given tips by captain and key striker Bhaichung Bhutia, who plays for Bury in the English second division.

"Bhaichung has improved physically and he is doing a good job," Singh said.

Football is popular in cricket-crazy India, but there is only one football academy, started privately in 1985.

"This win shows the coming of age of the Tata academy. The defence held its own against UAE where six players are products of the academy," Kapadia said.

India were Asian Games champions in 1951 and 1962 and runners-up in the 1964 Asia Cup tournament but have slipped in the FIFA rankings over the last two decades to stand at 121.

Their past performances include fourth place in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and a bronze in the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games.

Poor administration and the lack of a youth training programme has been blamed for the country of over one billion people struggling to make an impact in soccer.