FIFA World Cup Qualifiers | Oman had more chances, so they deserved to win, admits Igor Stimac

India's World Cup hopes almost ended as the Blue Tigers narrowly lost to Oman by a 33rd minute strike by Muhsen Al Ghassani at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on Tuesday. The goalscorer had earlier missed a penalty in the 6th minute for Oman and made up for the same minutes 27 minutes later.

India are now fourth on the five team table, with just three points, although the coach looked satisfied with his side. "Oman is a better side than India, but we are coming close (to them). We showed in the two games (against them) that we can play against teams like Oman, who I consider among the best teams in Asia.

India faced a huge blow by losing Adil Khan and Pronoy Halder in the first-half of the game, which left Stimac with very little of option. The manager spoke about the same and revealed what went wrong for India.

“We have been facing such problems from the beginning of the qualifications. But it was not only us, it was Oman as well. The problem is that there are not enough competitive matches internationally to play high-intensity football for 90 minutes. But today, we faced different problems, we could not pick up the high balls, and that is what killed us.” The Croatian coach added.

“We are not changing our system for anyone. We are developing our game and we are improving inside our system. If we start changing our system because of the teams we are facing, we are not going to improve. It’s as simple as that, so, we stick with our system. We are improving on positions. We are trying to develop our players’ strength and conditions. I want my India to play without fear against anyone because that’s the beauty of football. Never mind who is on the opposite side. You have a chance to win the game. But if you are adapting your way of play according to the opposite team, you must be weak. You show weakness. I don’t want my team to show weakness,” the 52-year-old said.

Igor Stimac also revealed why he choose Ashique Kuruniyan in the left back position and praised the youngster's performance. “I decided to go with Ashique Kuruniyan in that position because of how he played against Afghanistan in the second half while in that position. He is very quick. He can run past three players. He is very dangerous when he comes from behind. He’s not a goal scorer. So, it’s the same for him whether he plays as a left fullback or left winger. He served really well today. I think he has the capacity to play in Europe. He is very young. He is very quick. He learns very quickly and he is one of the players who will have a good future in Indian football," Stimac concluded.