Igor Stimac feels India deserved more after drawing against Nepal

The Blue Tigers delivered a sloppy performance in a 1-1 stalemate against the Gorkhalis.

The Indian football team played out a 1-1 draw against Nepal in an international friendly on Thursday. The Blue Tigers were largely disappointing against the Gorkhalis and trailed by a goal until the 60th minute. Anjan Bista gave the hosts a surprise lead in the first half. Anirudh Thapa saved India from an embarrassing defeat against Nepal by scoring the equaliser. Following the match, Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac spoke in the post-match press conference.

The 53-year-old was visibly unhappy with the pitch and felt the Blue Tigers deserved more after creating more chances. The Croatian also revealed his thoughts on the performance, while analyzing the match and more.

[KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

Analysis of the game

India lacked cohesion and discipline against Nepal on Thursday. They grew into the game in the second half, but was often at a disadvantage because of the pitch.

“I think it was an open and exciting game, good game of football I would say. Considering everything, the pitch was not in the best condition, it was not easy to play good quality football,” Igor Stimac began.

Deserving more from the game

The draw was a disappointing result for the Indian football fans. However, Igor Stimac revealed that he felt the Blue Tigers deserved more from the match.

“The game of football today was exciting and good for the public, for the spectators who were at home watching on TV and for everyone, who were here in the ground. I think the Indian team deserved more out of the game, we had clear chances considering everything. We played away and gave away a silly goal which does not happen often. I have a feeling that we deserved more out of it,” he maintained.

[KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

Thoughts on the performance

The Croatian opined that it was a game of two halves against Nepal. The tactician also reiterated that he was disappointed with the performance in the first half but was delighted with the display in the second.

“The game had two phases. First 45-minutes were not good. That’s why I made four changes at half-time. The second-half was far better as you could see. We were passing the ball quicker, we had good pace on the ball, we were picking up second balls, we were coming in the final third with quality,” he quipped.

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News |Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] 

No reason to feel pressure

Igor Stimac made it clear that he would be taking more positives than negatives from this match.

“If I start to feel any kind of pressure, then I will bring that into the dressing room and that’s not good. I have no reason to feel the pressure because we deserved to win today, we gave away a silly goal, we played away from home. There are many, many reasons why I have a situation to be happier than sad today. Considering everything, we have to be realistic at what’s going on.”

India and Nepal will play another international friendly match on September 5, 2021.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.