Looking to give credence to the developmental work happening around Indian football over the last few years, the senior men’s team head coach Igor Stimac said the National team should make it to the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to prove its evolving status as a strong footballing nation.
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“I have proven time and again that our team works perfectly well if we have enough time to work together. We are on the verge of making history in Indian football (by making it to the third round) and would urge every stakeholder of Indian football to help us in achieving that and not create barricades in on the way to our success,” Stimac said while hinting at the issues like long-term national camps that the coach feels necessary to help national team produce better results.
“We are stuck somewhere in our mind where we are not trying enough and that’s something which hurts me as a coach. We need to get the stability back in the team and see it perform with more confidence,” he added.
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“We are looking for players to provide stability in ball control and passing control. You see Anwar (Ali) and Jeakson (Singh) are still not at their best of ability and that is causing problems in the area of ball control.
“We are also not getting much from our full backs as we need them to work with more confidence. Stimac pointed out the specific problem areas.
“The scoring problem has been haunting us for five years and even before I took charge here. This is a problem with the leagues and competitions in the domestic format where foreign players occupy the important positions in the club sides.
“We are creating chances and but getting the goals is something which the players need to execute on the field. The best thing is that we got two clean sheets in three matches,” he said.