File photo of Igor Stimac, coach of the Indian football team© X (formerly Twitter)
Indian football team coach Igor Stimac once again criticized the squad’s lack of preparation time ahead of the 2023 Asian Games after his side were defeated by Saudi Arabia in the round of 16. The team, led by Sunil Chhetri, went down fighting as Saudi Arabia won the match 0-2, but Stimac believes the result could have been much worse. There were doubts over India’s participation in the Asian Games, followed by rows with clubs over the availability of certain players. As a result, team selection took a lot of time and the selected players were unable to practice together before traveling to China.
“The big lesson of this tournament is: Don’t send us anywhere if we can’t get our best players to represent the country. Don’t send us anywhere if you can give us the time to work and prepare properly. We were on display here while we were representing India. We took it well and the Indian fans can be proud of these guys who came here unprepared and without playing together in a single training session,” he said. RevSportz.
Formidable Saudi Arabia did not bring their ‘A’ game to the fore but were still strong enough to fend off a brave challenge from India by winning their pre-quarter-final 2-0 in the men’s football competition.
There was no doubt about Saudi Arabia’s supremacy as striker Mohammed Khalil Marran’s opportunistic double strike in the 51st and 57th minutes ended the Sunil Chhetri-led Indian campaign at the continental event.
However, Igor Stimac’s players can hold their heads high with the kind of performance they put in despite so much uncertainty and with the fact that AIFF is sending a second-rate side due to the stubborn attitude of the Indian Super League (ISL) organizers who refused to release to give. top players.
(With PTI inputs)
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