India capable of upsetting Oman in FIFA World Cup qualifying opener- Igor Stimac

The Croatian tactician also opined that the Blue Tigers' previous game against the West Asian side is 'not relevant.'

With the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying game against Oman in Guwahati inching closer, India national team head coach Igor Stimac remains upbeat despite staying realistic about his expectations. The Blue Tigers have been put in a relatively tricky group, but one from which they could perhaps progress.

However, Stimac believes Qatar and Oman remain favourites to go through as the top two. Talking before the game to PTI, he spoke about the group and said, “Realistically, Qatar and Oman are the favourites in our group. We have never won an official match against either of them. So, it's not going to be easy at all. In Guwahati we are going to give everything on the pitch, aiming to win it." 

Despite terming their Asian rivals as the favorites, the Croatian firmly believes his side will give a hefty fight and said, “Results are important now and they are our priority. We have used the last few months wisely. I feel we are ready for the challenge.”

India last faced Oman in 2018 in the run up to the AFC Asian Cup 2019 and Stephen Constantine’s side had managed to hold them to a 0-0 draw at the time. Speaking about this heading into their next encounter he said, “Don't get me wrong, but I don't consider friendly games relevant at all. But having said that, there is no taking away from the draw last December in the run up for Asian Cup."

Apart from Qatar and Oman, India will also have to face tricky oppositions in Bangladesh and Afghanistan to round off Group E. The Blue Tigers face the AFC Asian Cup 2019 champions in Doha on September 10 and Stimac obviously has his focus glued on these two difficult challenges in the space of a week.

“I think the group is competitive and is giving us hopes of doing well. After the draw, I immediately jumped into my office chair and started the work on Oman and Qatar matches, not thinking for a second about other groups and how easy or tough they are," the Croatian said.

“We need to perform well every game to keep our hopes alive, not only against Oman. No game is going to be easy and that's the way how we need to prepare our players. There are also Afghanistan and Bangladesh in our group and we need to equally respect them,” he further explained.

Moreover, when questioned about where and against whom he would have liked to play the World Cup qualifying opener he said,” If there was a possibility of choosing where and whom we would have preferred to play our opener, we may have chosen the Oman away match.”

Stimac also brushed aside any claims of India being underprepared due to not having played many friendly games heading into the qualifiers. He stated, ”I had to follow what was agreed before my appointment. Matches are not always pertinent. Practice time with players is more important.”

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What has been different from his predecessor is how the Croat’s changed the style of play of the Indian team after coming in. He opts to work the ball out of defence and play quicker, more attacking football.

Before signing off, he explained his philosophy and stated, “I think that (brand of football) is what all of you want us to do and so do our fans. That's something players are excited about and look forward to, in trying to please all with the improvements they have made. But, for me, that is only one of the options available.”