Coach Igor Stimac was happy with youngsters but disappointed with result against UAE, says Anirudh Thapa

India’s dream of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup is over once again, but they will still have something to play for in their remaining three World Cup qualifier matches in June, with a spot in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup up for grabs.

India currently find themselves in fourth place (three points), well behind group leaders Qatar (16) and Oman (12), but a third place finish would see them gain a direct entry to the third round of qualifiers for the Asian Cup. Afghanistan currently occupy third place with four points.

This year, India drew with Oman 1-1 in a friendly on 25 March which was followed by a 6-0 defeat against UAE just four days later.

Sunil Chhetri missed out of those matches as he tested positive for COVID-19 in early March, and Stimac introduced a lot of new faces, with the likes of Liston Colaco, Ishan Pandita, Akash Mishra among others who impressed in the Indian Super League (ISL). These were, in fact India’s first few international games since November 2019, which was a time before coronavirus wreaked global havoc.

Stimac named 10 debutants in that Oman draw, but India lost the plot against UAE the next match. And Indian midfielder Anirudh Thapa on Tuesday said that while Stimac was happy with the youngsters doing well, he was obviously disappointed with the overall result.

When asked about the coach’s message following the UAE defeat, Thapa said: “Obviously, he was disappointed, because, no one was expecting that result. We last played UAE in the Asian Cup (In 2019). That went pretty well but this time it was difficult. The message was nothing, it was just clear that he was disappointed, and we need to work harder, because of the work top teams in Asia are doing,” he said in a virtual media interaction conducted by the AIFF.

“We need to see that there are many young players coming, who have no experience in the national set-up. We need to give them chance to see how well they cope up. To see those young players doing well (vs UAE), he was a bit happy and obviously disappointed. The results were not in our favour,” he added.

India’s defensive lapses were seemingly palpable in that game, especially with new recruits in place. Ahead of the remaining World Cup qualifiers matches, Thapa mentioned that Stimac wanted to assess the new players’ performances in those friendlies to see who all were geared up for big games in the future.

“I think coach had a plan. He knew that these are friendly matches and that’s why he got new players and they performed really well. Especially from the ISL, he had to see who was ready to play the big games for the national team,” the 23-year-old said, before adding: “Result, what went wrong was, with them being new players, the pressure is there when you’re representing your country, you have to give your best.

“When you have new players come in, it’s also difficult for us to cope up with the style what the coach wants.  It’s just that he wanted to play everyone on the field and find out who was capable of playing in his system. There will be changes in the coming games, and we will definitely do our very best,” Thapa continued.

Last year in September, Stimac had opined that his players were getting better at possession-based football but that was lacking during the defeat, which saw inaccuracy in passing as well. What’s worse, in the 12 games Stimac has taken charge in, he has only won one.

However, Thapa went onto say that Stimac always has a positive mindset.

“The training has been good. You know what he likes, he is more into keeping the position. He motivates everyone, whether you had a bad training or a bad match. He always motivates us in regards of whatever we are capable of, and whatever the result is. He’s a positive coach, and that makes him different from others, because the positivity he brings within the team is really different.

“He has a system, he has everything planned to getting in with ‘The Professor’ (strength and conditioning coach Luka Radman). Professor is also there, he helps us build muscles,” continued the Dehradun-born footballer.

It’s been two months since their last international match, and Thapa said that the coach would have some selection headaches.

"It will be really difficult for the coach to pick the team. We have not played for nearly two months and it will be difficult for players also.

"It could be at the back of our minds, the concerns over injury, how will you react to a given situation, all these could be there," Thapa opined.

Thapa, along with the rest of the Indian players are currently undergoing home quarantine in New Delhi as they await the COVID-19 test results. The Blue Tigers are set to fly to Qatar on Wednesday, as they play Qatar on 3 June.