Indian football: How Igor Stimac’s side squandered a golden chance to reach next stage of Fifa World Cup qualifiers

India’s best-ever chance to go into the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, at a time when the main tournament has expanded to a 48-team event, came crashing on Tuesday. They had an underwhelming run in their group of Qatar, Kuwait and Afghanistan during the second round. Their last match against Qatar may have ended contentiously, but it was their overall performance throughout the group stage that led to their ouster.

Vs Kuwait, November 16, 2023

India’s first match of the World Cup qualifiers was an away game against Kuwait. Essentially, Stimac’s team was in a race against Kuwait to be the second team to qualify from Group A along with Qatar.

What happened

A 75th minute goal from Manvir Singh broke the deadlock and gave India the win. It was a crucial game where the Indians showed up and managed to get a result on the road – a rare occurrence. It gave hope that India’s debut appearance in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers was a go.

Nothing to complain about how our boys played!#QATIND #FIFAWorldCup 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/JeKIRpFJZH

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 12, 2024

What did Stimac say after the match

“I am not surprised by the outcome, but I always maintain respect for our opponents. Nevertheless, I have complete confidence in our team and their abilities,” Stimac stated.

Vs Qatar, November 21, 2023

A home game against the Asian champions was always going to be a tough outcome. Especially considering Qatar were deep into their preparations to defend their AFC Asian Cup.

What happened

Qatar scored within the first five minutes of the first half, then the second half and then scored in the 86th minute to complete a controlled 3-0 win over India. An expected result but one win out of two games, would have been something Stimac would have taken before the start.

What Stimac said

“Qatar were the better team. The physicality and the basic skill, the passing quality, final-third execution, it’s all there. They like to get behind you and put good crosses. It’s really difficult to play against them but I appreciate our boys’ commitment,” said Stimac. “The result was not my priority today,” he added.

Vs Afghanistan, March 22, 2024

Two games against Afghanistan were always going to be make or break. Any chance of getting out of this group depended upon favourable results here.

What happened

A crushing draw in the neutral venue of Saudi Arabia against a second-string Afghanistan team. No open play or set-piece goals. The match was an indictment of where India stands when players come a week out of the Indian Super League and join the national team.

Narrow defeat against Qatar ends Blue Tigers’ World Cup Round 3 dream!

Read the match report here 👉🏻 https://t.co/A0pY8RZWGU#QATIND #FIFAWorldCup 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/iz4M3SQIKC

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 11, 2024

What Stimac said

“I’m disappointed with the result at the end because we created 3-4 really good chances and we couldn’t score which is obvious. The problem has been following us for many many years,” he said.

Vs Afghanistan, March 27, 2024

After a goalless draw, India really needed this win to ensure that their attempt to reach the third round was still in their hands. A home game in Guwahati was finally where things would go to plan, right? Wrong.

What happened

One of the worst losses in the tenure of Igor Stimac followed. India were leading thanks to a Sunil Chhetri penalty kick in the 38th minute. They held onto that lead till the 70th minute, when Rahmat Akbari scored for Afghanistan. The visitors then received a penalty in the 88th minute which they converted for a famous win.

What Stimac said

“Yes, we lost the game, of course. I accept the responsibility. I’m the coach at the end of the day. But we are second in our group. We are playing decent football. As I said two days ago, we’re going to qualify,” said Stimac.

Vs Kuwait, June 6, 2024

Sunil Chhetri’s final international game added an extra motive for India to take the win against Kuwait. Seeing that their last game would be against Qatar, this game came with all the pressure that India had deservedly piled onto themselves.

What happened

India missed clear chances and a capacity crowd in Kolkata saw the national team slump to a 0-0 draw at home. And now only a win against Qatar would guarantee India a spot in the third round.

What Stimac said

“Now, we can understand how much we miss beating Afghanistan. We can now see how important it is that we are on top of our game and win points in the games we are expected to gain points from,” said Stimac.

Vs Qatar, June 11, 2024

A series of missed opportunities led to this must-win game against the defending Asian Champions. The group leaders for their part, had already qualified for the next round and had selected a second-string team.

An irregular goal did us in, rues Igor Stimac after Qatar defeat#FIFAWorldCup 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽️

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 12, 2024

What happened

India led at half-time by a goal and were playing quite well. And when it seemed like victory was theirs, a controversial goal, one that should have likely been disallowed, was given to Qatar. Twelve minutes later, they scored again to take the lead and knock India out of the World Cup qualifiers.

What Stimac said

“I’m not looking for an excuse, but when you have 25 boys working very hard and living the dream to achieve something and you get that dream killed because you didn’t make sure to stop such things from happening, that is not something the coaches or players should work on,” said Stimac.

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