India have the opportunity to seal a historic win at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday when they take on Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Second Round fixture, as a win would help the Blue Tigers in their pursuit of a first appearance in the third round of the qualifiers for the worldwide spectacle.
Ahead of the game, Indian head coach Igor Stimac opined that it was the biggest game he has been involved in, despite having featured in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Bronze-winning Croatia team.
“This can change the future of Indian football. Although I’m a foreigner in this country but I feel more like an Indian,” Stimac said.
“Honestly this is the biggest game altogether in my playing and coaching career and the simple reason is that we have a chance to make 1.5 billion Indians happy tomorrow,” he clarified.
“We need to do everything to make it happen. that’s the reason this is the biggest game of my career together in the coaching and playing days,” the 56-year-old added.
The game will also be emotional for other reasons as legendary Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri will walk out in the Blue drip for one final bow before hanging up his boots.
However, Stimac joked that he might think about calling up the veteran striker if the team were in need of his services going forward.
“Of course as a coach I’m sad that Sunil is leaving us. I’m still not sure if I’m going to send him another call, if I feel we need him and he plays well for Bengaluru FC. I’m still thinking about it,” Stimac explained.
India’s first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu came under scrutiny for his performance against Afghanistan, which India lost 1-2, but Stimac asserted that the 32-year-old will guard the posts yet again and expressed confidence in the ability of the shot-stopper.
“Gurpreet is starting the game tomorrow. I don’t question at this level and at such a highly important level my goalkeeper who is number 1,” Stimac said.
“I hope he will prove himself again tomorrow and how crucial he is for the national team. Yes, he didn’t do well but that doesn’t mean as a coach I will go with radical changes between the post because experience at international level is a huge factor,” he added.
Stimac has also called up players from the I-League, namely David Lalhlansanga and Edmund Lalrindika who have impressed with their performances throughout the season.
He acknowledged the skills they bring to the table and revealed that he could bring them on in the crunch encounter if the need arises.
“They are great assets for the Indian football both of them have adapted to the squad, to the drills, to the environments in a very, very good way. They became essential part of 25-27 squad. They will be competing for their minutes,” Stimac said.
He spoke about the lack of bench strength as a factor in India’s previous losses, and added that he intends to remedy the situation moving ahead.
“All of us have noticed since the Kuwait win that we didn’t have any positive impact from any player coming from the bench. That was terrifying for me as a coach,” Stimac said.
“I’ve pointed out to the boys because many times the bench players are more important than those who start the games,” the head coach signed off.
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