This is a great experience..., Igor Stimac on playing Australia at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium

The Croatian went all praise for Indian fans present in the stadium.

India put up a valuable fight in their AFC Asian Cup 2023 opener against Australia, falling to a gutting 2-0 loss at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in front of over 35,000 roaring supporters. With the majority being Indian fans, it was a proud moment for Indian football as a whole for so many fans crowding the ground to root for the Blue Tigers.

Head coach Igor Stimac was impressed and honoured to see his players get this kind of surreal experience of playing in front of so many of their fans on foreign soil.

After the game, when asked by Khel Now, he opened up about playing in a stadium that has hosted FIFA World Cup games for the players, saying: “Prior to the game, it was mentioned in the dressing room that we needed to play for our people who are here.

“Look how many of them were here. We needed to hold Australia for as long as possible. Our game plan was to hold onto 60 minutes and go for a win.

“Suddenly when we were preparing for our changes which were necessary to refresh the legs, we conceded the first goal in the 51st or 52nd minute. And it’s not easy then, because you need to play another 40 minutes against a team now relaxed as they opened the score. This is a great experience for many of these boys for the future, a very valuable one.”

Despite the loss, the game against Australia definitely serves as a major learning curve for the Indian players. The Blue Tigers aim to bounce back strongly in the AFC Asian Cup when they face off against Uzbekistan in their second group game on Thursday (January 18).

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