"If I don't take India to the third round, I will leave" - Igor Stimac on 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

Indian Men's Football Team head coach Igor Stimac has stated that he will be stepping down from his job if he fails to guide the Blue Tigers to the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the upcoming crucial home game against Afghanistan in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers fixture on Tuesday, March 26, the 56-year-old said:

"Never mind the contract, If I don't take India to the third round, I will leave. With my pride, with my honor, with everything that I have done in the last five years. But if we qualify, there's plenty of work that has to be done."

With the away clash recently ending in a 0-0 stalemate at the Damac Club Stadium in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia, India will be looking to secure three points when they take on Afghanistan at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

Expressing his thoughts about the drawn game and the challenges of facing Afghanistan who are currently ranked 158th in the FIFA World Rankings, the boss asserted:

"We are disappointed with the first game, realistically it's impossible to shine after long travel. We didn't allow Afghanistan much in the previous game. We still remember how better we played against Oman in 2019 in this same venue.

"I think this Afghanistan team is far better than what they are. Ranking means nothing, we remember how well we managed Australia for 60 mins."

"We have to make qualification scenario easy for ourselves by winning tomorrow" - Igor Stimac

An optimistic Igor Stimac stressed the importance of winning the encounter at Guwahati to further strengthen their chances of qualifying for the next round. He said:

"We are positive and will try to do our best. We are in a really good position holding the 2nd place. Draw or loss is the same for us. We have to make the qualification scenario easy for ourselves by winning tomorrow. We gonna do everything possible to win."

Since the beginning of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, India have not scored a goal yet. Admitting the fact that the team has been suffering to find the back of the net for the past five years, a visibly disappointed Croatian further added:

"The scoring problem has been haunting us since 5 years. It's because foreigners are playing in the important position in ISL. Apart from Sunil, no one is playing in the centre-forward position. So in 3 days, it's impossible to make that change. I cannot help our players in the final third. It's about their individual quality. Tomorrow we will field our best attacking front. We will bring some fresh legs."

Igor Stimac's men are currently placed second in Group A with four points from three matches. With the last two group fixtures against Kuwait and Qatar anticipated to be much tougher, India need to secure the maximum points on offer by producing a good performance against Afghanistan on Tuesday.