2022 World Cup Qualifiers: Igor Stimac - India deserved more from the game

The Croatian coach was happy with the fighting spirit in the second half…

registered their third consecutive draw in the ongoing World Cup 2022 qualifiers as Seiminlen Doungel’s late strike rescued a point for the Blue Tigers against Afghanistan.

While many might consider this result a disappointment, Indian coach Igor Stimac tried to focus on the positives from the match.

On his team’s performance, Stimac opined, “I think everyone who watched the game today enjoyed because it was an exciting game. Many chances were created and in the end, it was a draw. I don’t think neither of the team can be happy with the result. I feel we deserved more from this game. We created more chances than Afghanistan but were not lucky enough to score.

“We had our chances in every game. Even against in the last minute, we got a chance to score. We are very fit, the players are not going down with cramps. But we are making too many mistakes in making simple passes. We started the game well, dominated possession but after 15 minutes we suddenly started giving the ball away. We boosted the confidence of Afghanistan and they scored the opening goal. But in the second half, we came back strongly.”

The Croatian coach had raised concerns over the artificial turf of the Central Republican Stadium before the game but he was happy with it after the game.

He said, “The pitch was good. We were a little bit worried but the pitch was wet and the ball was rolling very quickly and the players enjoyed themselves playing on this pitch.”

next travel to Seeb to take on Oman on November 19. On facing a stronger opposition like Oman in their second away game on the trot, Stimac said, “Oman is a very difficult game. They have improved from the first match. We need to see how quickly we can recover before such a difficult game. But I am confident, we have enough players.”

Stimac acknowledged that and Oman are the favourites to qualify to the next round from Group E but suggested that India are a team in transition and are improving rapidly.

The India boss said, "We all know Qatar and Oman are favourites in our group. The difference between India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh is very less. I am very happy with my team’s performance, especially how they performed in the second half. We are in the build-up process, we are building a new team for the future. We are becoming a team who is very difficult to beat. We are playing exciting football.

"We have many new young players coming through and it is difficult to get good results at the moment but we are gaining experience now and we are going to become a great team in future. Before, India would never come back from a negative result. In the last two games, we came back from behind in the last minutes. We have become a team that never gives up. We have great character and that is what makes me proud as a coach."