Indian football team coach Igor Stimac called for his side to draw advantage as a unit while facing a higher-ranked Curacao team in their King’s Cup opener in Buriram, Thailand on Wednesday.
India will clash with Curacao, who are ranked 82 in the Fifa World Rankings.
“The Curacao players are experienced with a number of players playing in Europe. Technically, they are of a higher class than us on an individual basis,” Stimac said in the pre-match press conference.
“We need to draw the advantage as a team from it. We will have our chances and I hope the players will show up, work, behave, and finish the game as one unit,” he mentioned.
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Stimac selected six newcomers in India’s 23-man squad for the tournament and striker Sunil Chhetri said the mood in the camp was positive with the players ‘pushing each other to get better.’
“The camaraderie between the players is really good. I’m glad to see the boys gelling well, pushing each other to get better, and inculcating a number of good habits,” the Indian talisman said.
“I see a lot of desire among the new boys. Who knows, a few boys could start for the senior team against Curacao. So it will be a huge moment for them. I remember how I felt when I made my debut and it’s truly magical, a moment you never forget. I wish them all the luck and really hope they do well,” Chhetri added.
This will be the first assignment for the Blue Tigers since the Asian Cup in January, after which Stephen Constantine stepped down as India coach when they crashed out of the group stages.
Chhetri said the main focus now is to live up to the standards of new head coach Stimac.
“I want the coach stays satisfied to as much as possible of how we are understanding what he wants. My main focus right now with the new coach is to be sync with him as soon as possible, and as less time as possible. On our way to do that we definitely want to win games. No team ever plays to lose, and neither do we,” he added.
This is the first time in 18 years that India will be playing in a Fifa ranking tournament, the last being the Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.
The King’s Cup is a Fifa-sanctioned international ‘A’ tournament being organised by the Football Association of Thailand since 1968. India’s previous participation in the King’s Cup was in 1977.
The 2018 edition of the King’s Cup was won by Slovakia when they beat Thailand 3-2 in a thriller in the final, while Gabon beat UAE 1-0 to clinch the 3rd place.
(with PTI inputs)