Bengaluru: An acid test awaits the Indian football team as it gets ready to host higher-ranked Oman in the second round opening match of AFC qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup here tomorrow.

Though India have made progress under Englishman Stephen Constantine, beating Nepal in a two-legged preliminary
qualifier in March, the chief coach knows it's going to require an extraordinary effort to emerge with a victory
against Oman who, at 101, are ranked 40 places higher than the hosts in the pecking order.