Igor Stimac reveals what he is looking for in players to select final squad of AFC Asian Cup 2023

The Indian Football Team tactician said his approach will be similar for all three opponents.

As the Indian Football Team eagerly anticipates its participation in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023, set to kick off in the second week of January 2024, the spotlight falls on Head Coach Igor Stimac’s strategic preparations. In an insightful video on Instagram, Stimac emphasised the pivotal role of squad fitness in the tournament, underlining its significance for optimal performance. 

The coach also shed light on the carefully selected 26-men squad, indicating a meticulous approach to assembling a formidable team. With fixtures against strong adversaries such as Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria, Stimac acknowledged specific areas of improvement within the squad, pointing towards a commitment to refining key aspects. 

Let’s see what exactly the coach underlined in the video:

The 26 men list

Igor Stimac shed light on what he wants from the players in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023. The coach highlighted, “All these boys are very similar by the football qualities. So what we are looking for the final list of 26 is definitely experience, physical strength, and the final line will be drawn by the strength of their character.”

“This is very important for us as a team, as a family, because no matter the talent, if there is no character nothing can be achieved”, he added.

Things to work upon

The coach also mentioned the areas on which the team needs to improve ahead of the tournament. He focused on some typical aspects that he wants his team to be ready for before embarking on the Asian tournament. He said,

“The things I am looking for is defensive compactness, offensive transition, and the set pieces mostly. It’s also very important to work on man marking inside the box, because I was not happy with that part of our game, in the last few games. We started leaking some unnecessary goals inside the box because of marking was not properly done.”

The Opponents

India will face Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria in the group stage of the competition. The coach highlighted the opponent’s quality and responded, “All three opponents are very very good sides.”

“They are technically good, physically strong, with a great speed. So we are not going to have much difference in approach of all these three games. The main focus for us will be to check the fitness level of our players at present and see how much we can develop in the next two weeks.”

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