2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers | Coach will have difficulty in picking the team, asserts Anirudh Thapa
Anirudh Thapa (centre) is one of the mainstays in the Indian football team in recent times
|Indian midfielder Anirudh Thapa feels that national team coach Igor Stimac will have difficulty in picking the team for the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, as there was literally no action in the past couple of months. The Blue Tigers played a couple of friendly matches against Oman and UAE, in March.
In what has been an uneventful past one-and-half year owing to the pandemic, Indian football managed to play a couple of friendly matches against Oman and UAE, in March. It was their first assignment since the World Cup Qualifier back in November 2019, following which all international events were scrapped.
However, the Blue Tigers will fly to Qatar this Wednesday for the remaining Qualifiers against the hosts, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Going forward, India’s midfielder Anirudh Thapa feels that head coach Igor Stimac will have difficulty in picking the team for the upcoming matches, given that there was literally no action in the past couple of months.
“It will be really difficult for the coach to pick the team. We have not played for nearly two months and it will be difficult for us (players) also. It (not playing for long) could be at the back of our minds, the concerns over injury, how will you react to a given situation, all these could be there,” said Anirudh Thapa, during a virtual press conference.
For a fact, India is out of contention for a 2022 FIFA World Cup berth, but they can still win a couple of matches and make their case strong for qualification to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The Igor Stimac coached side will begin their Qatar voyage on June 3, with a match against the hosts.
