Stimac eyes national team camp in August after 'improved' show

However, there remains a feeling of what could have been and Stimac shares the emotion

Following the completion of the World Cup qualification campaign, in which India huffed and puffed to a third-place finish in Group E, head coach Igor Stimac feels there are positives to take forward as they shift focus to the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

The World Cup qualifiers started out strongly but the team lost steam after an initial burst. India had entered the qualifiers on the back of a decent show in the 2019 Asian Cup under then coach Stephen Constantine and backed it up with an inspired, if ultimately unsuccessful, performance against Oman at home and an away draw against reigning Asian champions Qatar in the first two games of the qualification campaign under Stimac.

But the campaign went off the track a bit, injuries and pandemic didn’t help, and the Blue Tigers finished a distant third as they were held by Bangladesh at home and twice by Afghanistan. India's lone win came during the recent run of fixtures, that was rescheduled and held at a centralised location, against Bangladesh thanks to a Sunil Chhetri double.

There remains a feeling of what could have been and Stimac shares the emotion.

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"Mission accomplished. Are we happy? No. Realistically, we expected more points. But it's a good platform to work from. Hopefully, we can have more games and time to fulfill expectations," said Stimac during an interaction on Friday.

So what are the positives? India finished third in the group with seven points from eight games, four more compared to the last World Cup qualification campaign where they finished bottom of the group. The goal difference has also been brought down from -13 to -1.

"Defensively we were good. India are not a team that will concede -13 or -15 goal difference anymore. We did a pretty good job in midfield, adding technical players and youngsters coming in. But we couldn't score more. In the final third we are struggling," remarked Stimac.

While one could point out that erstwhile coach Stephen Constantine — under whom India played a resolute if uninspiring style of football — had left behind a good team, one he built over his tenure, Stimac revealed that he too had to figure out his team based on the requirements placed on him.

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"It was clear with AIFF that they wanted to move to a new style (of football) and the public wanted it," said the Croatian. "When we compare to the time Constantine was in charge, when he started there were many difficulties to build the team. It was harder for us because I was brought in to change the style of football. From that aspect, we can say we succeeded in a certain way. We improved possession and passing accuracy. It took time to find the players who can play in this manner because there are not too many technical players. There are limits so it takes patience. Like I said when I arrived, they will be suffering on our way."

Now, the focus shifts to the third round of qualifiers for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and with it being a 24-team affair, there is little excuse for India to not make it to the tournament. And plans are already being made.

"First we need to see the draw and what it brings. I'm happy that we have 35 players, three in each position and some more as well. Our plan is to start camp in August with two friendlies in September. Then it depends on when ISL starts. If it doesn't start by November then we will keep training, playing two friendlies in October and November," said the 53-year-old.

Stimac’s contract situation is also in the air with the tactician’s current deal set to end in September.