Stimac has done good work in past 1 year but do we really want him to stay 9n after Asia Cup or do we need a change 9f guard with a new and better philosophy? For 9ne Stimac's wage demand would be too much for AIFF to afford. Plus I want someone who can get the best out of our young players and improve them in tactical aspects of the game.
Indian National team coach salaries would be borne by central government or Sports Authority and not by AIFF. Cricket is an exception as it is independent body.
Teams like Lebanon, Syria & Thailand are technically good & better than us but not as fast like Kuwait. Most of the Kuwait players have good pace and few of our players drained out after dominating 80 odd minutes against Kuwait. Same thing happened vs Oman, we are very good against them till 80 mins and somehow lost steam & conceded 2 goals in last 10 mins.
As far as I remember, first thing gets to my mind is 2002 World Cup Qualifiers, We won against UAE 1-0 at home, even away game lost by single goal. That win is one of our best result. I didn't get chance to watch live at that time.
Next thing to come my mind is 2007 & 2009 Nehru Cup Win against Syria and 2008 AFC challenge win against Tajikistan. Winning against Thailand 4-1 in Asian Cup is also a good memory followed by away game draw against Qatar.
Our win against Lebanon in Inter-Contintenal cup (2-0) is nothing less. They are one of the strong Asian nation and qualified to WCQ 3rd round multiple times. Lebanon low point is 2010 WCQ, even during that the time, they won against us (6-3) on aggregate score.
As giridharan said, Thailand Kings cup will be true test for us. I hope we get to face Iraq first & then Thailand/Lebanon. Even in Malaysia Merdeka cup, hope we get to face Palestine first.
Can it be said with full confidence that Thai players are technically better than Indian players?
Teams like Lebanon, Syria & Thailand are technically good & better than us but not as fast like Kuwait. Most of the Kuwait players have good pace and few of our players drained out after dominating 80 odd minutes against Kuwait. Same thing happened vs Oman, we are very good against them till 80 mins and somehow lost steam & conceded 2 goals in last 10 mins.
Can it be said with full confidence that Thai players are technically better than Indian players?
Of-course 100% with confidence, during Asian cup, Thailand is technically better than us. We have improved after 2019 AFC Asian cup with the emergence of players like Chhangte, Apuia, Brandon, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Sana, Mahesh. Sahal if we exclude his long passes. Even players like Sandesh, Thapa & Ashique improved. There are good players like Asish & Mehtab. Even Nikhil Poojary improved a lot in last season. Most of our players including Suresh, Jeakson & Rohit may not be technically good even now. But they are better than the previous lot & their work-rate is top-notch.
AIFF gave Stimac an impossible target for extension-if he takes us to Asian cup quarters. I think we should reconsider it if he takes us to the third round of World Cup qualifiers as then a new coach will completely unsettle things.
Going by the NT's form right now, if we get the same group in WCQ Round 2 as we got for 2022 WCQs, i.e. Qatar, Oman, Bangladesh & Afghanistan, I believe we we will easily beat the likes of Bangladesh and Afghanistan and can even defeat Oman on our best days. I really hope we get a simple group this time as well.
AIFF should get india a chance to play against teams like Bahrain,oman,syria,vietnam,Uae,jordan before Asia cup...it will benefit us a lot whether we loss or win doesn't matter..playing against these teams will help us judging where we are....
Going by the NT's form right now, if we get the same group in WCQ Round 2 as we got for 2022 WCQs, i.e. Qatar, Oman, Bangladesh & Afghanistan, I believe we we will easily beat the likes of Bangladesh and Afghanistan and can even defeat Oman on our best days. I really hope we get a simple group this time as well.
Oman is in Pot1 which means it has done tremendously well. Dont take them for granted
@ ;souravindia + 1 Oman is as strong as Iraq, Uzbekistan & UAE. Not sure why the folks are thinking we could defeat Oman.
Oman defeated Japan, China & Vietnam. Even got a point against Australia by scoring 2 goals in last WCQ. In WCQ 3rd round, after 10 games, they just conceded 10 goals and finished a point behind mighty Australia. Even in Gulf cup, they reached finals and lost to Iraq in extra time. Iraq hosted the event. Along with Oman, participated teams are Iraq , Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi B team, Kuwait & Yemen
This Oman team has become very formidable under Branco Ivankovic. I was actually very surprised when Stimac’s team held them 1-1 in a friendly! Stimac had already started our foundation back then but we could not see through it.
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Cricket is an exception as it is independent body.
+ 1
Oman is as strong as Iraq, Uzbekistan & UAE. Not sure why the folks are thinking we could defeat Oman.
Oman defeated Japan, China & Vietnam. Even got a point against Australia by scoring 2 goals in last WCQ. In WCQ 3rd round, after 10 games, they just conceded 10 goals and finished a point behind mighty Australia.
Even in Gulf cup, they reached finals and lost to Iraq in extra time. Iraq hosted the event. Along with Oman, participated teams are Iraq , Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi B team, Kuwait & Yemen