Igor Stimac, the head coach of the Indian men's football team, extended his contract on Tuesday till the AFC Asian Cup in 2023, as per the latest reports. The AIFF technical committee made the recommendation to renew his contract, and the executive committee later approved it during a meeting.

In a historical moment, the Indian national football team qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, even before playing their encounter against Hong Kong on Tuesday. The qualification came in after Palestine defeated the Philippines in another group of the qualifiers, which sent India to the main draw.

Indian midfielder Anirudh Thapa has stated that the national team is under a transitional phase under Croat Igor Stimac, after a great run under former coach Stephen Constantine. The Chennaiyin FC star is a mainstay in the national side and has been used extensively by both the coaches in the past.

The Indian Men’s football team has dropped by a place and is now stationed at the 109th position as per the latest FIFA rankings. 2018 World Cup semi-finalists Belgium remained at the pole position in the rankings, closely followed by France and Brazil at the second and third spots respectively.