Football coach Igor Stimac on Thursday said India is heading into the World Cup qualifiers against Afghanistan with a clear mind and focus on securing a spot in the third phase of qualifying for the first time. India will play back-to-back matches against Afghanistan as part of the second round of joint qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup, with the first match taking place on March 21 in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The match will be played at home against Afghanistan in Guwahati on March 26.
“We are going to go there and try to win the game. We are not thinking about any large-scale calculations right now. Once we are all there we will discuss how to win the game from the first second,” Stimac said in a statement. Published by AIFF.
India started the second round of United Qualifiers in November last year with Manvir Singh scoring the most important goal in Kuwait City, taking all points against Kuwait, but then lost the match in Buba Neswar lost to Qatar 0-3.
The Blue Tigers are currently tied with Kuwait on three points but have a goal difference disadvantage in Group A.
India will be looking to get their form back on track after losing to Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and Syria (0-1) in the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in January .
“We are not a club that can work with players every day. If you talk about the Asian Cup, of course it is disappointing, but mainly for those who don’t follow us regularly. The expectations are high but there is no basis for it, ” Stimac said.
“This is behind us and I’m happy that we have more important things to do now. The focus is on moving from the second qualifying stage to the third stage,” Stimac said on the sidelines of the AFC Cup cross-region semi-finals. – Final between Odisha FC and Central Coast Mariners FC (Australia).
Finishing in the top two spots in the group will ensure India advance to the third round of qualifying, which will also ensure direct qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
The Indian team will take a chartered flight to Abha for the first match against Afghanistan.
“The Afghan team made every effort to create difficulties for us, which is expected. Choosing Abha, which is 2,270 meters above sea level, as the home court is a wise decision. Playing there requires strong endurance,” Stimac said.
“Whatever the situation is, we will go there with a clear mindset that we are looking for points. Most of our players are in good form at their clubs and hopefully we can overcome all the difficulties and find ways to manage them in a positive way Contest.
“They all have the same dream, so we don’t need to inject any motivation into them. We’ve never been to the third round before and if we do that, it will give them a new dream to qualify for the world championship in future cup competitions. “
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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