Former India football captain IM Vijayan feels the goalless encounter against Asian Champions Qatar, in a Group E tie of the Asian Qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup, has given immense confidence to the team and will help them do well in the upcoming matches of the tournament.

“This was undoubtedly India’s biggest-ever result in international football in recent history. I say this keeping in mind India’s 1-0 victory over the UAE in 2001. I was part of that team. The victory over the UAE was big, but to me this is huge.

“This result will work as a confidence booster for the team. We will play Bangladesh next on October 15 at Salt Lake Stadium and if everything goes well, we should win the match. We are firm favourites against Bangladesh,” Vijayan told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

“Our captain Sunil Chhetri didn’t play the game against Qatar. But he will play against Bangladesh, so that is going to be an added advantage,” he said. “We need to keep in mind that Qatar are the current Asian champions. They have made major improvements recently, which shows how big this result is for us. You also need to remember that Qatar were a team in the Copa America. That is at a different level altogether,” he said.

Vijayan also praised India football team head coach Igor Stimac’s attitude, and approach. “The coach has brought in fresh blood and new ideas, and the boys are adapting to it well. That brings results like this. The way he motivates them impresses me a lot,” the former India striker said. “Most importantly, he is inspiring them to play a good brand of passing football, which is a treat to watch as well. Although we lost to Oman, we led until the 82nd minute, which is not an easy task at all, given Oman’s credibility.

“Soaking in the relentless pressure from Qatar and stealing a point at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha in front of vociferous crowd showed the nerves of steel developed by Stimac and his boys. Given Qatar’s credentials, this draw is a major stride for Indian football towards a golden future,” Vijayan said.

In the match against Qatar, India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was unbelievable under the bar. And Vijayan felt it was a match to remember for the goalkeeper as well. “Gurpreet was my Man of the Match.

“He led the team from the back. Keeping a clean sheet against the team that had scored 19 goals in seven matches in the Asian Cup is not something that you see everyday. That’s what our boys did. Full marks to them.”