India men's football team head coach Igor Stimac played down Blue Tigers' chances at the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 on Sunday, December 31. India are facing a tough draw against Australia, Syria and Uzbekistan in Group B fixtures starting on January 13 in Qatar.
India announced a strong 26-member squad for the biggest football tournament in Asia on Saturday. Blue Tigers will be making their only fifth appearance in the mega tournament. Igor Stimac's men finished runner-up in their first attempt in 1964 but suffered the last finish in the following three appearances in the tournament.
All three of Australia, Syria and Uzbekistan are ranked higher than India in the Men's FIFA Team standings. However, Stimac is looking for positive results against superior teams but admitted that his team will be outsiders in Group B.
The Serbian coach said that he is not focusing on the results at the Asian Cup and added that India's final goal is to qualify for the third round of World Cup qualifiers 2026.
"Obviously, we are rank outsiders in our group," Igor Stimac said on Sunday. "Uzbekistan is one of the dark horses and a fantastic team, their players' physicality could cause problems. Australia are playing at the highest level of football and we all know what they are capable of. They are regular at World Cups and will mostly clear the group stage there.
"This group is much stronger than the last Asian Cup. The most important thing for us is to have a good performance and ensure that we remain stable and in shape while playing. I am not putting any pressure on players about results. We need to find stability, we will try to play fearless football notwithstanding the teams we play against. I don't mind the final results. Our final goal is to qualify for the third round of World Cup qualifiers."
After the Asian Cup tournament, the Blue Tigers will be facing Afghanistan twice in March and Kuwait and Qatara in June in the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
India squad for AFC Asian Cup 2023:
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith.
Defenders: Akash Mishra, Lalchungnunga, Mehtab Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose.
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia Ralte, Liston Colaco, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Udanta Singh.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Ishan Pandita, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Vikram Partap Singh.
India's Group B fixtures at the AFC Asian Cup 2023
- Australia vs India, January 13, 2024 (17:00 IST, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan)
- India vs Uzbekistan, January 18, 2024 (20:00 IST, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan)
- Syria vs India, January 23, 2024 (17:00 IST, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor)
