Igor Stimac: I wouldn’t like anyone underestimating Bangladesh

The Croatian also feels that the Bengal Tigers deserved to win against Qatar.

For India as well as their head coach Igor Stimac, there’s a need to follow up the remarkable draw against Qatar, by picking up their first win of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign. Igor Stimac’s side have only attained a single point from two games and a win is quintessential to maintain their charge towards an ambitious podium finish in Group E.

The Croatian explained his appreciation for playing at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. “It’ll take me a long time to explain my excitement at being here. I’m very happy to be here in the City of Joy, Mecca of Indian football," Stimac said.

"It’s not only about me, but all about our staff and players. In regards to the game, there will be lots of passion involved. We know what it means when India and Bangladesh are playing against each other. We know that somehow we’ve woken up all the football fanatics in India with our latest results," he added.

"We have shown that India can play organized, passing football. We have shown we have many talented players like Sunil (Chhetri), Sandesh (Jhingan) and others,"  Stimac further went on to say.

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"On our day, we can play against anyone. But, Bangladesh will be a completely different threat than our first two games," the Indian football team head coach opined. "In the first games, nobody counted on us to get positive results. But, now the pressure is on us to get a win. We were trying to release that kind of pressure from our team and that everyone enjoys the game," he was quoted.

"We’re ready for the game, our expectations is to win the game. Winning this game will give us a chance to keep dreaming. But, lets wait and see what our boys can do tomorrow. But, I’m quite confident they’ll be at the top level," the 52-year-old explained.

Thoughts On Indian Squad

When asked about his feelings on how far the Blue Tigers have come under him and whether tomorrow could spark a new dawn, Igor Stimac seemed pleased with the progress.

“I’m very satisfied with whatever we’ve done in such a short time. It’s not easy to take the players in time part of the season, without proper pre-season or competitive football in our legs. Our first thing was to refresh training on their legs and their minds. It wasn’t easy, but somehow we did it. I was lucky that we found great young players, in terms of technical ability, but also about how great characters they are," the Croatian added.

"They’ve been led by great example in our team. We need to make sure we make great use of our great technical players and they need to work hard to do their job properly. We can be on our way to participate in the biggest football tournament(the FIFA World Cup). Everything you do in football is a long process. Coming from the bottom stages to the highest levels is a long process. It’s good to be favorite for one game, which doesn’t happen very often. But, we need to handle and thrive under that pressure,” Igor Stimac quipped.

Favourites?

Stimac shrugged away the positives from having the “favourites” tag and said, “Being favourite in one game means nothing. We proved that in Qatar. It’s about which team will step up on the game. Which team is ready to go the extra mile. It’s always 11 Vs 11. That’s the biggest beauty of football. There are always favorites and underdogs, but it doesn’t mean the favorite wins. We are readying our players for the challenge."

"I know the people working around us are building on our team-work. It’s about mutual respect, it’s about sacrificing yourself so others can gain and about improving ourselves. We analyze ourselves first and when we wake up the next morning, it’s about what I can do. It’s not about analyzing others' work. If we keep working like this, we’ll be more than okay,” the tactician explained.

More Players On The Horizon?

The Blue Tigers' boss also confirmed his expectations for the national team and spoke about how settled they are in his few months in-charge. “Of course, we can say that the team is settled. But, that doesn’t mean at all that the door is closed for others. On my sheet, I have some 40 players who I’m going to be monitoring when the ISL starts on 20th October. The door is opening for everyone with an Indian passport. I’ll go to many games personally, to see who are those I can include in my list."

"I think we made a good choice about introducing some new, young faces in our team. As you all know, what we said at the beginning is our aim is for now to go in the AFC Cup final stages continuously, not occasionally! The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a more realistic option. What we have is to develop football at this time and give us the experience to become one of the bigger national teams in Asia. We know our aims and how we’ll work on the future as well,” Igor Stimac elaborated.

Not Underestimating Bangladesh

Igor Stimac warned everyone not to take Bangladesh’s threat lightly and praised the Bengal Tigers, saying, “I wouldn’t like anyone underestimating Bangladesh. That’s never a good thing to do. I have lot of experience in this. Whenever there was someone underestimating someone else, the result is never good. Bangladesh has proven themselves in the field to be a strong side. They deserved to win against Qatar by the chances they created. All our expectations are based on our result against Qatar and our great play in the first sixty minutes."

"They (Bangladesh) have their dream as well. They didn’t come here to lose the game, but win it. Do not provoke a lion. They gained enormously in recent times. They have won seven out of the thirteen games under their new coach. They are a organized, disciplined side. They have many talented players and enjoy the fruits of their youngsters. Of course, support us tomorrow, but don’t make it harder for us by underestimating them. Lets go into the game with great respect for the Bangladesh fans. Without our team all together, there’s nothing there,” the India boss further opined.

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Finally, he signed off by explaining his and Sunil Chhetri’s roles in managing the Blue Tigers, while also pointing out how important it is for the Indian football fraternity to act as one. He added, “His numbers are there among the top players. They are telling everything about him as a player. Nobody can change that. I can tell you about CHhetri as a person and I can also tell you about him as a leader.

“As a human being, his passion for football and discipline in football is so inspirational for everyone in the team. I would say he’s more important than myself in the team. I think that’s a fact. But, this game isn’t about me or him. It’s about all of us together. As I said before, we are all a family. Everyone involved in the football fraternity is one as a family. We appreciate the criticism which helps us work harder and prove ourselves better everyday. I hope as a unit the national team participates in the World Cup together.”

"The reason why Croatian football is so successful is because everyone works together. We all love football, we all live football and we’re all much happier when football is successful in India. I love how all the rival fans have come together to cheer us on to win tomorrow. I think they’ll be a crucial 12th player in the pitch for us," he signed off in an optimistic fashion.