Heard of Tahsin Mohammed, Nishan Velupillay, Sarpreet Singh or Samuel Moutoussamy? The quartet are footballers of Indian origin who are part of the FIFA World Cup rosters for Qatar, Australia, New Zealand and Democratic Republic of Congo, respectively — their journeys going viral on social media earlier this week as a sign of India’s tenuous link with the upcoming showpiece in North America.

Every four years, it has become a ritual for the Indian media to dig for such connects while the dream of seeing the Blue Tigers on football's biggest stage looks beyond reach. The refrain of why a country of 1.4 billion cannot qualify for a single World Cup has become a well-worn cliché, reducing India to a nation of ardent followers of the event on TV, while a motley crowd of media personnel will dutifully land up to chase the likes of Messi, Ronaldo or Yamal.

The lament is bound to get stronger ahead of the 2026 edition as with the addition of 16 teams to the fray (the field has expanded from 32 to 48 at one go), the quota of Asian countries has........

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