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Indian National Football Team head coach Igor Stimac voiced his opinions for Asian Games 2023 and World Cup Qualifiers Round 2 group stages draws that took place on Thursday, July 27, involving the Blue Tigers.
Incidentally, the Sports Ministry cleared the Blue Tigers to participate in the Asian Games only a day before the draw after weeks of controversy.
Stimac opined how he is cautiously optimistic about the Asian Games after the groups were announced. For the continental event, India have been grouped with China (ranked 80th by FIFA), Bangladesh (189th), and Myanmar (160th).
In a video shared by Indian Football Team on their official Twitter account, Igor Stimac mentioned:
"The host team China - it's going to be a very competitive game for our youngsters and I expect that this game to decide the winner of the group. With all respect to Bangladesh and Myanmar, who are similar to us in terms of having many many youngsters in their senior national team already, we need to outplay them on the pitch, simple as that."
"So, I expect us to vie for the first position in the group against China and I expect our youngsters to do a brilliant, brilliant job for India," Igor Stimac added.
World Cup Qualifiers draw "not lucky" for India - Igor Stimac
After India climbed up to the 99th spot in the FIFA rankings recently, they secured the Pot 2 spot for the World Cup Qualifiers Second Round draw. They have been grouped with Qatar (59th) from Pot 1, Kuwait (137th) from Pot 2 and will also have one of Afghanistan (157th) or Mongolia (183rd) from Pot 4.
Speaking in the aforementioned video, Igor Stimac reckoned it to be a tough draw for India.
"The World Cup Qualifiers draw for 2026 was not lucky for us, you know," the Croatian said. "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 of playing against such teams. And then we have Kuwait - by far the best team from the Pot 3, and Afghanistan or Mongolia which we faced in the near past."
"Once again, we need to state very clearly that the second position in the group needs to be ours," he added. "We need to do everything to prepare well, to get enough time from all the stakeholders in Indian Football for good preparation and ensure that India goes through to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers."
Sunil Chhetri and Co. have been in fine form, winning three competitions in the last few months - the Tri-Nations Championship, the Intercontinental Cup, and the SAFF Championship. These wins ensured the Pot 2 spot for the World Cup Qualification draw.
Igor Stimac's men will look to carry forward this rhythm into the King's Cup, which is likely to begin on September 7. This will be followed by another international tournament - the 42nd edition of the prestigious Merdeka Tournament.
The football event for the Asian Games will begin on September 19 and India will kick off the second round of World Cup Qualification in November.
