Whoever is in the best situation can play in the final, says Igor Stimac

Multiple missed opportunities mean the Indian national team were held by Lebanon in the final group game.

Igor Stimac's India played out an entertaining 0-0 draw in their final group game against Lebanon in the Hero Intercontinental Cup on Thursday, June 15. The Blue Tigers had their fair share of chances, but both Anirudh Thapa and Rahim Ali scuffed major opportunities that frustrated the hosts.

Result and Lebanon's physicality

Igor Stimac was pleased with the performance from his players despite the draw, as he said after the Intercontinental Cup game:  “It was a good game. Lots of action with both sides giving their all to create a good football game. We knew that we were facing a good opposition today that would test our opportunities, as is what happened. We defended well and congratulations to my boys. They stuck to the plan, they created more than enough chances to win the game, I’m sorry for them that they didn’t score very clear opportunities. We had much better chances than Lebanon and we deserved to win this game. That didn’t happen, but we’ll ensure to win it in three days time.”

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When asked if he was annoyed with the physical style of Lebanon in the game, the Croatian gaffer answered: “That’s how football is played. All teams in the Asian Cup will play like that. We had a different approach to them today, we had many aggressive players up front. We had many players impressing in the technical part. We were the better side overall. I feel sorry for the fans who showed up in big numbers. I invite them to show up in bigger numbers for the final.”

Rotation in No. 10 area

Igor Stimac also explained his reason for rotating Sahal Abdul Samad and Naorem Mahesh Singh in the no.10 role in this Intercontinental Cup game, stating: “These boys can play in many positions. A left-winger can play on the right side and even No.10 or centre-forward. All of them can do that because they communicate well between themselves and understand each other well.

"It was obvious towards the end that Sahal was at the end of his game, and we need him fresh for the final. Who better from the bench than Sunil and Naorem? They had the feeling to come in the gaps in the final third and pass it well. We feel sorry that we didn’t take those chances because you could feel that the goal was there in the last 20 minutes.”

India’s missed chances

Despite seeing his side miss some major scoring chances against the Cedars, the gaffer isn’t that perturbed because he still believes that the work in the final third is a work in progress. Igor Stimac explained: “The players were trying and they did many times what we practised in training. Many times we made a good final third pass, but we got into the positions to make a good cross and we didn’t make it. This is what is the problem in Indian football. You can see runs coming inside in the final third that there are chances to put quality crosses into the box for the players who are lurking in the box.

“But we keep running straight into the corner line and that doesn’t allow us to put good crosses, that are easy to defend. We need to keep working on our finishing. Now when the players miss the goal-scoring chances in training, they need to run an extra lap. Only a goalkeeper is there in front of them and no defenders. They miss the goal and many of them run. It’s not being done in the developmental phase here. That is why our football is suffering. The forwards are sacrificed for someone else and that isn’t helping. We need to change things to score more goals and have a more exciting team,” he added.

India’s approach to attacking moves and defensive work

Igor Stimac also described how he wanted India to approach the attacking play on the night in the Intercontinental Cup, saying: “We are trying to get the players to not to rush into the final third positions. It’s better to hold possession, switch sides and look for space on the other side. We need to keep the ball, keep changing positions and create the spaces to make the runs in and then create them. You’ll kill your players with the same monotonous style, so we’re learning now to feel the intensity of the game and find the open gaps as well as how to be fresh and free to run forward in counter-attacks against quality sides.”

The former Croatian defender is mighty proud of how his side’s defensive work has evolved under him, as he exclaimed: “This is our fifth clean sheet in a row now. Even if you play against the 200th-ranked team, you can concede goals. You see how far we’ve gone with our defending. We’re never allowing our opponents to create easy chances. They had one clear chance today, but this is Lebanon. Against Mongolia and Vanuatu, they didn’t even come close to scoring. That is the base we’re building. To keep clean sheets and make sure that we can create more chances going forward.”

Rotation in the upcoming games

When asked if he will rotate his side might for the upcoming games, including those in the SAFF Championship, Igor Stimac explained: “I’m not thinking about that. I’m only concentrating on what to do to win the match. I’m trying to help them to rise up in the game and have faith in what they do. I need them to be clear about where they need to be and know about their positions and responsibilities in each second of the game.

“We have a very organized, disciplined and compact side with clear ideas on what needs to be done and many different players o be used. That is richness, not weakness. That is what we call football, richness. You are rich when you have so many players to choose from. People are thinking about experimenting and not finding the same level, but I can’t give lectures. We are rich with players and need to keep using them. They’re wonderful,” he added.

Igor pleased with variety of attacking moves

Igor Stimac was also pleased with the variety of attacking chances India tried creating through both the wings against Lebanon. He said: “We have seen a decent amount of attacks from both sides, but the style is different. Chhangte today was coming inside into the central areas, while we were insisting that Udanta make more runs in behind the defenders on the left. We had a variety of patterns today to be used today. The boys did well. They implemented the plan well. Chhangte created a lot of chances in the first 45 minutes, be it controlling the ball or turning players.

“In the second half, the energy levels were down and we need to be patient. Defensively, he made Lebanon work. Not a single time their full-backs could create anything, they were dead today. They disappeared because of their fear towards Udanta and Chhangte. That is what we want, to create fear for the opposition full-backs so that they don’t come forward. They need to think more about keeping these guys quiet, which is what I’m happy about,” he also stated.

Who can start the Intercontinental Cup final?

Finally, the Blue Tigers’ gaffer refused to take names on who is in line to start the final of the Intercontinental Cup on Sunday, as Igor Stimac finished with: “We’ll see how the boys feel and how they recover for the final. I’m not thinking about names for it. I might start Sunil, but I might not. I’ll see how the players feel and who is fit. Ashique was fantastic today, he disturbed them with their build-up from the back – that is precious for us. We’ll see who is fresh enough for the final. Whoever is in the best situation can play in the final.”