Igor Stimac stated, “It is one of the crucial events for our future work and very soon tournaments like this need to become one of the main contests in our nation. I hope it returns to what it was previously, assisting in the advancement and improvement of football. The opportunity to play it overseas will be vital for all of the teams playing in the final rounds. It is a fantastic chance for the players to play in a pleasant environment.
It’s a fantastic chance for the guys to compete under ideal conditions and earn exposure.”
International friendly preparations
In the March FIFA window, India will face Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan. These two games will kick off the preparations for the forthcoming Asian Cup, which will be held in January of next year.
“I am looking forward to the next games and it has been a long time since we have been together,” said the head coach. Most Indian players are having a good season, if not a great one, and picking players will grow more harder as competition improves year after year.
“We need to recognise those who have improved in the current ISL season,” he continued. The ISL finals will be held on March 18, and the players engaged in the finals may not be available for the friendlies this time. We begin the camp on the 14th and will have a week to prepare.”
Reflections on Jeje’s retirement
Jeje Lalpekhlua has been a tremendous servant to Indian football and was one of the ISL’s most highly regarded attackers. The Mizo Sniper played for the Indian national team 56 times, scoring 23 goals. Injuries forced the 32-year-old to end his playing career.
Jeje Lalpekhlua
“First and foremost, it was amazing to see Jeje at the Marina Arena in Chennaiyin FC’s last league game,” Igor Stimac stated. I loved his company during the game but was unable to coach him owing to his injuries. We are in desperate need of a guy with his scoring talents. I have high hopes for the children, and someone may be able to replace him shortly.”
Burma and Kyrgyzstan Evaluation
Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar are rated 94th and 159th in the men’s FIFA rankings, respectively. The former has been in good form and will have a stiff challenge against the Blue Tigers.
The 55-year-old iterated, “We cannot take any opponents casually and we are going to tackle both games extremely seriously. Kyrgyzstan is a considerably superior team with higher talent than Burma, and they have just qualified well. We will approach the game with a positive attitude, attempting to dominate and break down our opponents.”
In preparation for the AFC Asian Cup, India will play a number of international fixtures in the following months. Aside from the FIFA window in March, the nation will host the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship.
“We haven’t begun the preparations yet since we have tight schedules with FIFA windows and the impending ISL season,” said the head coach. We need to get down with all of the potential stakeholders and plan out our future work together. As a national coach, it is more crucial for me to focus on December if the Asian Cup begins in January 2024 rather than the March, April, and September FIFA windows. We also have U-23 Asian Cup qualifications in September, so it will be a demanding schedule, but looking ahead, we need to come up with a strategy and execute it.”
