Igor Stimac
was in no mood to criticise any of his players after India conceded two goals inside the first 18 minutes and three in the first half against
Uzbekistan
, largely stemming from lapses in concentration at the back.
In a game where India had to pick up at least a point to be on track for qualification to the knockout stage of the
AFC Asian Cup
, Stimac’s side had possibly the worst first half under the Croatian head coach, losing 3-0 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
“To take positives out of the game, if we take the goals away, which were caused again by our silly mistakes, I could be even happy with the performance, with the intention, with trying, with composure, with passing,”
Stimac
said at the post-match media. “It’s easy to be harsh on the players but we need to accept our realities and realise how much work we have ahead of us.”
Stimac said India’s problems at the continental level – one win in the last 60 years – are not recent, or ones that emerged under his tenure, but a result of “not doing anything for the last decade.”
“We are not producing centre forwards who can score goals, and people who are clinical in the box. That’s now visible in the national team when we come to the top level. At the lower level, we will control and dominate these games. In the future, as far as I am concerned, there won’t be any problems qualifying for the Asian Cups continuously. But to have a better efficiency at the
Asian Cup
, we need complete players,” he said.
While praising defensive midfielders Apuia and
Suresh Singh
– both “good enough” for this level – the Croatian coach said he has at his disposal players who are good passers but without speed and strength, while those with speed and good passing ability don’t have the strength to match the physicality of teams at the higher level.
“It is obvious that strength and speed (of the opponents) are causing us problems at this level. We need to work on ourselves. We are a growing team. Learning from lessons like this will give us good momentum in the future. There is one game left. We have hope but we have to eliminate micro details which are killing us at the moment,” said Stimac.
India play third-placed Syria (one point from two games) in the concluding group clash on Jan 23.
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