Iraq favourites, but we all came to win the game: Igor Stimac

Igor Stimac talked about the reconstruction of the Indian football team under his tutelage.

The Indian football team play their first match of the 2023 King’s Cup in Thailand when they face off against Iraq in the semi-final on Thursday, 7 September. The Blue Tigers are set to play in this tournament for the first time in four years, since they last played in it as the first tournament under head coach Igor Stimac.

Stimac’s targets for King’s Cup and respect for Iraq

Ahead of the game, Igor Stimac was asked about his targets for this edition of the King’s Cup. He said: “It’s been four years since we played in the last King’s Cup here and that was a great experience for our young team at the beginning of our work. We are four years older now and have a better idea of our possibilities and what we can achieve.”

The mentor also voiced his respect for the strong Iraq side, stating: “I hope we can do something good against a strong side like Iraq, who are Arabian Gulf Champions and it’s clear how much they can do after beating Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. It’ll be very difficult for us, but I hope our boys enjoy the game against a strong opponent.”

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His journey since King’s Cup 2019

When asked about how the journey as India’s head coach has been for him from the last King’s Cup to this edition, Stimac explained:  “It’s been a long way. I’ve taken time reconstructing the team, and selecting a lot of players. I’ve been asked over the years about when I will have my strongest XI. But you need to keep changing the players because the national team is not like club football."

He added, "You are together every couple of months, then you need to choose the best-performing players, try to make a group and create an environment that produces results. We wanted to give chances to young players who can be taught about our philosophy and a squad that can be depended upon for the next 10 years.”

Stimac hopeful of young Indian side pulling off a famous result

The Croatian manager is proud of how he has created a young core in the India squad and hopes that his players give their all to cause an upset. He said: “We have a young squad led by three, four senior players who are very positive leaders for us. That is the path we’ve taken and we can see that India can be successful. But we need to prove that we can be resistant to playing away from home, we can continuously perform in a similar way with high-intensity, progressive football which is very difficult today.

“I didn’t want to put my friend in a difficult position, but today a lot of fans see the rankings when they create the tournament and by the rankings, Iraq is a favourite here, but we all came to win the game. Everyone is here to win, obviously, some teams are better with better quality, but nobody knows what will happen in the matches. We have our hopes, we have our challenges and we will do our best. But the result is always in God’s hands,” Stimac finished off with.

India will hope to end a disappointing record against the Lions of Mesopotamia on Thursday. They have faced Iraq on six occasions in competitive football, losing five games and only playing out one draw.

If able to win the game, the Blue Tigers will move onto the final of the King’s Cup, where they’ll face the winners of the Thailand/Lebanon game on September 10. If they lose to Iraq, then they’ll take part in the third-placed game against the losers of the other game.