Why Igor Stimac needs to change his perception of Bangladesh, Afghanistan

The Blue Tigers failed to clinch three points against both teams earlier in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Last month, Igor Stimac surprised many with his comments regarding India’s upcoming opponents Bangladesh and Afghanistan. He said: “Sometimes I get the impression that we have too much opinion of ourselves when it comes to opponents like Afghanistan or Bangladesh.”

The Croatian coach basically meant that the Blue Tigers held themselves in high regard when it comes to such opposition. He was essentially saying that fans were wrong to expect comfortable wins against teams from the sub-continent.

Now, let’s look at the facts. We all know that India are nowhere among the prime football nations of Asia. They’re not even in the top-15 in the FIFA Rankings for the AFC confederation. But, that doesn’t mean those two opponents should be regarded as ‘daunting’ prospects. Here's a look at why Igor Stimac was wrong in what he said.

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FIFA Rankings

Despite not playing many games since 2019, India have maintained their position at just outside the top-100 in the FIFA Rankings. The Blue Tigers are currently ranked 105th despite the heavy loss to the UAE in the friendly in March.

That said, the team are still well ahead of both Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the rankings. Despite being above India in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers group, Afghanistan are 149th in the rankings. Infact, the highest ranking they’ve ever achieved is 122nd in April 2014. Even at their best – they still couldn’t come near where India are right now under Igor Stimac.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are even worse off. The Bengal Tigers are currently ranked 184th – being nearly 80 places behind India in the rankings. Similarly, their best ranking ever was 110th (in 1996) which still doesn’t better India’s current position.

The FIFA Rankings can, of course, be deceptive at times. But, when the difference is this big, it shows a glimpse of reality. India being so far ahead of these two teams is definite proof that there should be no excuses not to defeat them in games om a regular basis.

Head-to-Head meetings

Even before the World Cup Qualifiers, the Indian football team have faced Afghanistan and Bangladesh on many occasions. Against Afghanistan, they have played nine competitive games so far. Among them, the Blue Tigers have won six, drawn twice and lost just once.

One of those draws was the 1-1 stalemate they played in November 2019. Fortunately, a last-minute equalizer from Seiminlen Doungel saved Igor Stimac and Co. from embarrassment then. Irrespective of that, the Blue Tigers have (almost) always maintained a good record against Afghanistan and dominated them on most occasions.

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Against Bangladesh, the record is a bit trickier. India have faced the Bengal Tigers on 29 occasions, only losing twice. They have won 15 games and drawn 12 – including the last three matches. That really shouldn’t be acceptable against a team ranked almost 80 places below them in the rankings.

But, these records give solid proof as to why India deserve to think highly of themselves in games against the two oppositions. They’ve almost always enjoyed success over them in the past.

Quality of leagues

So, the major reason behind India’s historical dominance over Afghanistan and Bangladesh is because their football structure is just superior. While Indian football has had its ups and downs over the years, the Indian Super League (ISL) has at least balanced the structure.

Over the years, the ISL has attracted some big foreign names from all over the world. As a result, slowly but surely, the quality of the Indian players has improved. This has been proven by surprising results in certain International games – noteably the draw against Qatar in March.

Igor Stimac made some interesting observations when talking about Bangladesh and Afghanistan recently. He revealed that 23 out of the 28 players in the Afghanistan squad are playing in the UAE, USA or in Europe. There’s a reason for that. Afghanistan’s own league isn’t that good.

The lack of cohesion within the team and chemistry is the reason why they struggle to impress as a unit. Bangladesh, however, have many of their players in the Bangladesh Premier League. The BPL has produced some impressive teams – like Basudhara Kings and Abahani Dhaka – mostly because of strong investment.

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But, even so, the BPL doesn’t get even half the viewership as the ISL. The games aren’t as competitive, nor are the players (especially foreigners) as talented.

Conclusion

In reality, Igor Stimac is smart not to underestimate Afghanistan or Bangladesh. Complacency has no place in football. The Indian national team’s wobbly record in recent times gives no reason for them to be complacent against any side.

However, that doesn’t mean India should start holding these two teams in the same category as Qatar or similar sides. Their FIFA ranking, previous record and general quality proves that. In reality, the Blue Tigers should defeat both these sides in their upcoming qualifiers.

But, because of the lack of preparation and sense of tension within the camp, it remains to be seen whether that can be done.

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