Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac on Friday said the Blue Tigers had a realistic chance of progressing to the next stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Fifa World Cup which is set to begin in September.
However, he warned that a lack of game time for his players could have an impact on their chances in the qualifiers. The upcoming Indian Super League edition will start on October 20 while the I-League resumes in the first week of November, if reports are to be believed.
Stimac, who took over from Stephen Constantine earlier in May has been vocal about the need for a longer domestic football season.
“That’s the biggest headache. The league is starting late and it’s too short. There are not too many games and the break is too long. We must do something to help the national team,” the Croatian told The Times of India.
India have been drawn alongside hosts Qatar, Oman, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Group E.
Read - Here’s all you need to know about India’s tricky group for 2022 World Cup qualifiers
Stimac urged the Indian football hopefuls that they need to temper their expectations from the team considering their previous record in the competition.
“We need to be careful with our expectations. We don’t have a good record against the opponents at either the senior or under-23 level.
“We have never won [competitive match] against Qatar and Oman. Bangladesh and Afghanistan too have always been difficult opponents for us. Against Oman, we played seven times and drew two games, both friendlies. We lost all five competitive games. That tells you quite a lot,” he said.
For the long term, Stimac said his focus was to build a competitive team in the next two years and establish themselves as one of the best in Asia.
“Our plan is to build a competitive team in the next two years which will play regularly at the Asian Cup and be among the favourites in Asia to qualify for the World Cup 2026 final stages. If there is a chance now [at the World Cup qualifiers], we will grab it with both hands. We are ambitious and looking forward to the qualifiers,”
In his first tournament as manager, he ensured a third-place finish at the King’s Cup in Thailand but had a dismal outing at the Intercontinental Cup in June where they failed to win a single game.
India open their Asian qualifiers campaign against Oman at Guwahati on September 5.
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