Stressing the need to stay positive, Indian football team coach Igor Stimac said injuries to key players such as Ashique Kuruniyan and Jeakson Singh have made the task tougher ahead of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. India are scheduled to play Kuwait at their den in the 2026 World Cup and AFC 2027 Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualifying Round 2 next week. India will also play in the upcoming Asian Cup in January next year. “We have entered the new phase of our work and we know it will be very difficult for the boys. We know that the next few months until March will be very difficult,” Stimac told the All India Football Federation (AIFF). ) website.
“We are very optimistic that once the players who are currently missing are back, we will become solid again and show strength on the pitch, no matter who we play against.
“So the focus at the moment is on replacing the guys who were the starting eleven, such as Ashique Kuruniyan, Anwar Ali and Jeakson Singh (currently injured).
“They were our strength in the last successes we achieved. These boys played very good football; they added extra value to the whole team,” he added.
India has won only once on home soil against Kuwait 3-2 in a friendly match in 2004.
When asked if the group is strong, he answered positively and said the aim is to conquer second position.
“Yes, the group is very tough and challenging because we know there will be no easy opponents, and they are the top teams. So apart from that, from the third pot we got by far the best available opponents (Kuwait).
“So the group is tough at the moment, but we have to take it game by game and prepare for it. As far as I’m concerned and with my experience in football, November to March will be difficult.”
“To prepare well and ensure that the national team has enough time to secure second place in the group and qualify, that is our plan.” Stimac, the 1998 World Cup semi-finalist with Croatia, brings the squad together just a few days before the qualifiers.
How much will that help get the boys back to the desired level? “We started planning this camp a long time ago and we will have four to five days to carry out some training and exercises and prepare well for the first match against Kuwait, which is important because it opening match is. We are quite clear about what needs to be done.
“It will be a very difficult and different match, so the boys have to adapt to that as quickly as possible. And we won’t have much time for that, just one training session before match day.”
“So there will be difficulties and challenges, but again, we know what we can bring to the field, we know how to deal with the situation. All we have to do is stay focused and well concentrated on the task at hand to carry out.” will present to the players.” India recently had the upper hand against Kuwait, beating them on penalties in the final of the SAFF Championship after a stalemate in the group stages.
“The games we played against them (SAFF Championship) came after a long camp preparation. And our boys should not rely on the latest success because now we are in a different position. The boys come from a different tempo of football.
“So we are not going to lie to ourselves and expect top quality football. Our focus is on the result and how we can get that result in the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers.”
“My advice to players will be to forget as quickly as possible what happened in June and July against Kuwait and to focus on new challenges and new developments ahead. And that is the best way to approach this match Stimac said. .
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