Igor Stimac names player who could solve India's goalscoring woes

Stimac was asked about Sunil Chhetri’s probable replacement in future.

India faced a forgetful defeat by Uzbekistan in their second match of the AFC Asian Cup 2023. The Blue Tigers faced a 0-3 defeat by the White Wolves. India’s journey at the flagship tournament is almost over as they have lost two out of two games.

Uzbekistan started off very strong and scored the opening goal in the fourth minute after Abbosbek Fayzullaev found the back of the net. Igor Sergeev scored in the 18th minute before Sherzod Nasrullaev scored the third goal late in the first half.

India put up an awful performance at the back and looked very out of touch. There was confusion and lack of coordination among the players. However, they did look inspiring upfront with the chances that they created.

The Blue Tigers created a fair number of chances, but lacked the all important final touch as always. Apart from Sunil Chhetri, the national team does not have a proven goalscorer. And the question remains the same: who will replace Sunil Chhetri?

Igor Stimac speaks about Sunil Chhetri’s replacement

The same question was asked to India’s head coach Igor Stimac after the match. Stimac replied and said that there’s no one who can replace him because no Indian player is playing as centre forward regularly at the club level.

“No, we don’t. No Indian player is playing as a centre-forward anywhere,” said Stimac.

However, the head coach did mention Mumbai CIty FC’s Gurkirat Singh’s name. He said that Gurkirat is the one who has started playing now and he might be the one.

“Gurkirat is one player who started playing now. He is 19 years old and maybe he might become one,” Stimac said during the post match press conference.

Gurkirat Singh’s career so far

The young forward is known for his goal scoring instincts. He has scored 11 goals for the India U-20 team in just eight appearances. He also won the most valuable player and top scorer award at the SAFF U-20 Championship for scoring eighth goals and leading India to glory.

He has scored two goals for Mumbai CIty FC and one goal for his former side Indian Arrows. Gurkirat has shown signs of becoming India’s future No. 9. He has the required abilities and skills, but he needs to be nurtured properly in order to get the best out of him.

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