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India's football coach Igor Stimac has expressed his satisfaction and optimism after the draws for the Asian Games 2023 and the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers were announced on Thursday, July 27. The Croatian, who has been in charge of the senior men's team since 2019, expressed his opinion on the draw.
India has been drawn into the Group A of the Asian Games 2023 football event, along with China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. The tournament will be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 10 to October 1, 2023. India has qualified for the Asian Games after a gap of eight years, thanks to the new AIFF Chief Kalyan Chaubey and the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur, who approved their entry at the last minute.
Stimac said that he expects a tough fight from all the opponents, especially China, who are the hosts and one of the favorites. Noticeably while starting his address, the Croatian said “us Indians” indicating his loyalty and love towards the team and country.
Stimac said, “Host team China is going to be a very competitive game for our youngsters, and I expect that this game decides the winner of the group.” He continued and mentioned that he expects the Indian team to go past Myanmar and Bangladesh as he said, “With respect to Bangladesh and Myanmar, which are similar to us having many youngsters in their senior national team already, we need to outplay them on the pitch.”
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Stimac also reacts to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers' draw
India have also been drawn in Group A in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, along with Qatar, Kuwait, and the winner of the playoff between Afghanistan and Mongolia. The first round of matches will be played in October 2023, followed by the second round in November 2023 and June 2024.
Stimac mentioned that luck did not favor us with the World Qualification draw as he said, “World Qualifier draw 2026 was not kind of lucky to us, having Qatar, one of the best Asian teams in our group is going to be a big task but we proved not long ago that we can find a way playing against such teams and having Kuwait, one of the best teams in the pot three and Afghanistan or Mongolia which we faced in the near past.” The Croatian further zeroed upon the importance of preparation and mentioned that he is ‘looking forward’ to a brighter future in Indian football.
After winning two consecutive trophies (Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship) the Blue Tigers are in great form and on high confidence. India will face Kuwait in their first match of the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers on November 16, 2023. The senior team's next challenge will be at the AFC Asian Cup after the qualifiers in November where they will have Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria in their group.
