Top five players who played most matches under Igor Stimac

Several players earned a spot under Igor Stimac in his era.

The beautiful game’s governing body in India, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recently relieved Croatian head coach Igor Stimac from his duties as the head coach for the Indian football team following India’s poor run of performances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

India failed to get into the third round of fixtures despite being in a pole position for the majority of the campaign. Moreover, India dropped to 121 in the latest FIFA rankings, their lowest in the last few years. 

In this article, we take a look at the top five players who played the most number of matches for India under Igor Stimac.

5. Sahal Abdul Samad (37 matches)

Sahal Abdul Samad was one of Igor Stimac’s go-to players in the middle of the park. He even made his debut under Stimac back in 2019 and has been a regular for the Blue Tigers ever since.

Sahal played 37 games under the Croatian tactician while scoring three goals, including a late winner against Afghanistan to secure India’s qualification to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

4. Manvir Singh (38 matches)

Manvir Singh played 38 games under the tutelage of Igor Stimac. He was one of Stimac’s preferred forwards during his time with the Blue Tigers. Manvir’s pace, physicality and technical abilities made him an undisputed starter under Stimac.

He scored four goals under Stimac, including an iconic goal against Kuwait away from home to secure India’s first away win in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers since 2001.

3. Anirudh Thapa (39 matches)

Anirudh Thapa has the third most number of appearances under Igor Stimac. He earned 39 caps ever since the Croat took over the reins of the Indian national team.

Having good vision, accurate passing and control over the game’s tempo, Thapa was one of Stimac’s most reliable players. Moreover, He also scored the winning goal in Igor Stimac’s first victory as the head coach of India back at the 2019 King’s Cup.

2. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (43 matches)

Gurpreet was Stimac’s main man between the sticks. Stimac showed his faith in Gurpreet by making him the first-choice goalkeeper on most occasions and the keeper repaid his coach’s trust with full dedication.

In 43 games for the national team, Gurpreet managed to keep 19 clean-sheets and also pulled off some historic performances, including his heroics against Qatar in 2019 and at the 2023 SAFF Championship. 

1. Sunil Chhetri (45 matches)

Sunil Chhetri undoubtedly made the most number of appearances under Igor Stimac. Chhetri played 45 out of 151 games for India under the Croatian head coach.

He was a consistent performer under Stimac and answered the call on most occasions whenever India needed him. Out of his tally of 94 goals, Chhetri scored 27 under Stimac. He also played his 150th game and his final game under the Croatian. 

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