Indian football team coach Igor Stimac sounded upbeat ahead of India’s AFC Asian Cup campaign kick-off against Australia Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan on Saturday. Stimac acknowledged the difficulty about facing such formidable opponents but said his team will be ready to embrace the challenge.
The Blue Tigers have been drawn into Group B of AFC Asian Cup along with Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria. India begin their campaign against the Socceroos who are one of the best sides in Asia. Australia made it to the Round of 16 in the last FIFA World Cup and lost to Argentina in the same stadium. India, by contrast, are still looking to earn their maiden World Cup appearance.
Stimac, who has previously talked about the importance of staying confident, said, “Obviously it’s going to be a very difficult match for us because we all know the strengths of Australia. We know their achievements in the past. All of their players are coming from top European clubs, top leagues I would say, playing very competitive football week-by-week.
“It’s not going to be easy, we are well aware of that, but we are here to embrace the challenges,” Stimac told reporters on the eve of the match in Doha.
Stimac also talked about the strength this Australian team possesses, and stressed on the need for India to ‘stay compact’.
“They play very pragmatic football, insisting on their strengths. They caused a lot of problems to England and we can expect the storms coming out of them. We need to stay compact and do everything possible to stop the crosses from the flanks,” Stimac said.
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