FIFA World Cup Qualifiers | The point was well deserved, believes Igor Stimac
Igor Stimac has stated that even though Qatar had a larger share of chances and possession, India has a lot to take away from the experience and deserved to draw the game. He also defended the fitness levels of the players in reference to last match and discussed the next fixture against Bangladesh.
A resilient India held on for what seemed like a long 90 minutes to draw against Asian champions Qatar in a historic result for the sleeping giants of football. The hosts kept knocking on the door as is evident with the fact that they had 27 shots and 15 corners apart from 68 percent of the possession. However, the Blues dealt with the attacks well while Gurpreet Singh Sandhu put up a scintillating performance to keep the ball from hitting the back of the net.
"They had more chances and more corners. We also had a few chances, but it's the experience we have gained [that counts]. That's the beauty of football. Where there is danger, there's an opportunity," coach Igor Stimac said at the post-match conference, reported Sportstar.
India became one of the few teams to have kept Qatar at bay in 2019 while also becoming the only Asian country to avoid a loss at their hands in the ongoing year. The result seems even more impressive when one considers the absence of talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri, who wasn’t fit for the match
 "We have been working on the mindset. If you get it right, it will win you matches. That's what makes a team powerful. We have a bright future to look forward to," Stimac added.
A lot of questions were raised on the team after they held an early lead for nearly 60 minutes in the qualifying opener against Oman before goals in the 82nd and 90th minute meant they had to make do with a 2-1 loss. The common opinion was that a lack of playing time and match preparation meant the players didn’t have enough fitness to last the whole game and lost steam before the final whistle.
“You see, I cannot reply to each comment after a game because not many people are well educated about football. We are a fit team and we proved it today. We played against Qatar and we made space for ourselves even in the last minutes. We made sprints even in the 95th minute, showing a lot of concentration. So we showed good fitness,” Stimac defended his players.
India plays its next game against neighbours Bangladesh at the Salt Lake stadium on October 15, with a win expected considering the lowly rank of the visitors.
“Our country has a population of over 1.3 billion people compared to that this was a very small crowd. I want to see 80,000 people in Kolkata against Bangladesh. We deserve that and they need to come and support us,” Stimac claimed.
The result was certainly positive for India and was another sign of what the country is capable of achieving.
"At the end of the day, this point was well deserved," Stimac signed off.