Frenchman henri michel

World Cup Qualifiers: Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup remains Indian Football's biggest dream. Nine previous campaigns to reach the world's greatest single sporting event have been unsuccessful.

But when you talk about India's best performance in a qualifying tournament, there's only one campaign that comes to mind – In 2002, when India missed out on reaching the final round by a solitary point, reports AIFF.

"Definitely our best World Cup Qualifiers," prompts Mahesh Gawali, whose solid partnership in central defence with Deepak Mondal was key to India's famous 1-0 win over UAE in Bangalore.