Bangalore: If you forget the present, India's football World Cup qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium will bring back wonderful memories. It was here after all, 14 summers ago, that India shocked Henri Michel's United Arab Emirates (UAE) and went through an entire campaign at home without defeat.

Cut to the present and Sukhwinder Singh's 2001 squad appears like they were from a different era; an era when they rubbed shoulders with the best and still came out unscathed. UAE, for example, was such a marvellous performance but expect no such repeats when India host Iran on Tuesday.

India have already lost to Oman at home and Guam away.

It's the only team in the group without a point and expecting them to open their account against Iran would be too much to ask for. What many here fear is humiliation against the top ranked team in Asia.

Coach Stephen Constantine, though, displayed his usual combative self, saying his team would "fight till the end" and hoped to reach the Asian Cup qualifiers. The reality remains different as India are already branded strugglers in the group.

Constantine did not lose the opportunity to point out the huge difference between India and Iran. "It is now up to us how we approach the match. It is a difficult match but we want to create as many chances as possible," he said.

But how much his boys would be able to follow his words remains the crucial question. The 23-member Iran squad, who arrived in the Garden City on Sunday, have eight players who played in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Several players in the Iranian team are playing abroad with serious professional teams.

While two are with Russian clubs, some are regulars in Chinese, German and the Dutch leagues. Andranik Teymourian, the first Christian captain of Iran, is considered a national hero and played for Bolton and Fulham before joining Qatar side Umm Salal.

Another top star is midfielder Ashkan Dejagah, who too played for Fulham and German side, Wolfsburg. He represented Germany in under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 national teams before switching allegiance to Iran.

Often called "Team Melli", the Iranians are coached by Carlos Queiroz, the star Portuguese manager, who made his name as assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and managed Real Madrid.

Cool and composed, the 62-year-old grey haired coach first praised India's progress in football and then warmed up when asked about the aim of his team on the field.

"Our team's aim remained the same always... To play well and win. We should play quick passing quality football and return to the dressing room with our chin up.

" As a nation, Iran is passionate about football... Friends and family members back home would eagerly want us to win.

"I always tell my boys to enjoy the game on the pitch and be ready for everything. We are ready for everything on the field," said the Portuguese soccer guru.

On paper, Iran are indeed a formidable force but then, they, too, were checkmated by Turkmenistan a couple of weeks ago to push them to third place in the group. Constantine must be hoping that his two stopper backs - Dhanpal Ganesh and Sandesh Jhingan - would create difficulties for the Iranian attackers. Any two from among Narayan Das, Rino Anto and Pritam Kotal will be the choices for the full-back positions, while the coach is believed to be toying with the idea of using Robin Singh on the left.

As usual, much of India's tactics would revolve around their captain, Sunil Chetri, a prolific goalscorer, who rescued India a number of occasions in the past. It remains to be seen how much he can stretch the Iran defence.

The last time India played in Bangalore, they did a decent job despite the loss against Oman. On Tuesday, the organisers are hoping at least 20,000 will turn up to watch how the Chetris fare against the best team in Asia. Among the spectators will be Jamshed Nassiri, the Iranian, who made a name for himself in Indian football.

On Tuesday, rain, however, could prove to be a dampener as the Met office has predicted rain and thunderstorm. It rained on Monday evening, too, and both the teams had to practice in rain.

Live telecast: On Sony Kix & Sony Six HD, from 7 pm.