Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac on Wednesday said that despite most of the players taking part in the Indian Super League, the ...
Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac on Wednesday said that despite most of the players taking part in the Indian Super League, the team will have to start from scratch when they play their first international matches in a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India play Oman and UAE in Dubai in friendlies as part of preparations for the joint qualifying round matches for 2022 Fifa World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup.
Stimac said it is now a whole new beginning.
“We were planning a lot of things last year like change in scheduling of season, more games, Super Cup etc but the pandemic has destroyed everything. The team also has to start from the scratch though the players have played in ISL. International matches are altogether different.
“We wanted to give them the experience of playing stronger teams, that will give them more confidence and fearlessness in future. I have told them there should not be any pressure on them.”
The head coach revealed that he was in tears after watching the footage of his side’s defeat to Oman despite leading till the 82nd minute of their opening World Cup Qualifier in 2019.
India were leading 1-0 through a 24th minute strike from captain Sunil Chhetri in the first...
