India could have done better in joint qualifiers but improvement can not be denied: Igor Stimac

India’s head coach Igor Stimac believes the team could have done better in joint qualifiers of 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup 2023. The Blue Tigers finished at the third place in second round Group E as they won a solitary match out of the eight they played. Sunil Chhetri-led drew four matches and lost three games.

They were able to qualify for the third round of AFC Asian Cup which was their main aim before playing in the second-leg of the group stage. In fact, India were already ruled out from the race to qualify for the 2020 World Cup. India lost 1-0 against Qatar and showed great resistance despite being down to 10-man, won 2-0 against Bangladesh and drew 1-1 against Afghanistan in the recent three matches.

“Mission accomplished. In a few words, it was difficult. We lost 500 days with the pandemic around us. But we accomplished the aim. Is that good enough? We are not happy. We expected more points from the group. But we need to be happy …Hopefully, we will have more friendlies and we can fulfil the expectations of fans and the media,” Stimac said on Friday in a media interaction organised by the AIFF Media Team.

Stimac added that his aim has been to help the team in improving their passing accuracy and have more control of the ball and they have been able to achieve it to a certain extent.

“When you start a project, it is difficult. It was the same with Mr [Stephen] Constantine [India head coach before Stimac]. I was brought here to change the style of football from defensive to having more control of the game, improving on passing accuracy. From that aspect, we have succeeded in a certain way. I have my numbers which show that we have improved in ball passing accuracy and ball retention,” he said.

Stimac opined that the fat percentage of players was more than ideal. The head coach also added that the Indian football should play more and against quality opposition in order to improve themselves at the top level.

“The fat percentage was nearly 12 which was unacceptable when I took over (in May 2019). Now all of them are around 7.9% [on average]. That is top class. But they do not have enough games in their calendar. Playing four months of professional football, we cannot go forward as a country. A season of eight months gives us more competition. To do anything better, you need to work more. You need to have more high-quality games.

“If some players have good passing, then they do not have muscle strength or lack pace. We are lower in muscle mass by seven to nine kilos. There is a difference in pace and understanding of the game. We need good foreign coaches in academies to achieve success as a country,” he said.