Football
'Expectations at Asian Cup were baseless': Indian head coach Igor Stimac
Indian football team coach Igor Stimac said that his team has moved past the Asian Cup and will focus with a clear mindset at WC qualifiers.
Igor Stimac hails the Minerva Academy of Ranjit Bajaj
Indian men's football team head coach Igor Stimac believes that expectations during the Asian Cup 2024 were without any base and his team will focus on the upcoming World Cup qualifying match with a clear mindset.
India will play back-to-back games against Afghanistan as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers round 2, the first of which will take place in Abha, Saudi Arabia on March 21.
India will then play their home game against Afghanistan in Guwahati on March 26.
The Indian team will be looking to bring their performances back on track after the disappointments of the AFC Asian Cup in January, when India lost against Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3), and Syria (0-1) in Qatar.
"We are not a club that can work with the players daily. If you speak about the Asian Cup, it was of course a disappointment, but mostly for those who were not following us regularly. The expectations were high without any base,” said Stimac in an AIFF release.
"That's behind us, and I'm happy that we have more important things to do now. The focus is on getting from the second phase to the third phase of qualifying," Stimac said on the sidelines of the AFC Cup Inter-Zone Semi-final match between Odisha FC and Central Coast Mariners FC (Australia).
In November last year, India began their Joint Qualification Round 2 campaign, logging full points against Kuwait, courtesy of Manvir Singh's all-important goal in Kuwait City but then suffered a 0-3 loss at the hands of Qatar in Bhubaneswar.
"We will go there to try and win the game. We are not looking at any massive calculations right now. Once we all get there, we will start talking about how to win the game from the very first second," Stimac said.
The Blue Tigers currently stand level on three points with Kuwait but have an inferior goal difference in Group A.
A top-two finish in their group in the qualifiers will guarantee progression to Round 3 of the qualifiers for India, something that will also ensure direct qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
"Afghanistan did everything to make it difficult for us, which was expected. Choosing Abha as their home venue at 2,270 meters altitude was a clever decision. Playing there requires great endurance," said Stimac.
"Whatever the case may be, we are going there with a clear mindset, and we're looking for the points. Most of our boys are in decent form at their clubs, and hopefully, we can overcome all difficulties and find a way to manage the game positively," concluded Stimac.
