Dubai: Indian will return to action after a gap of 492 days when they take on Oman in an international friendly on Thursday. They had underwhelming results in the World Cup Qualifiers which ended their hopes to qualify for the second round.
Under coach Igor Stimac the team has been winless in their last eight matches since May 2019 and has been under criticism for not delivering up to the mark on time.
“We were planning a lot of things last year like change in the scheduling of season, more games, Super Cup but the pandemic has destroyed everything. The team also has to start from scratch though the players have played in ISL. International matches are altogether different,” Stimac told the reporters in a pre-match press conference.
“When I looked back at earlier matches, I cried a few times. As it happened, with bad luck or inexperience (of players) in such important games, we fell down and that was something I always cry about,” Stimac said.
“We were not effective as a team to score enough goals. We played good football, created chances but didn’t do enough to put them away. At times, we were also not ready to play 90-95 minutes in games of this intensity,” he further added.
The team is a mixture of youth and experience. Maximum players are going to make their international debut on Thursday and have been picked up for their good performances in the recently-concluded ISL.
The likes of Bipin Singh, Ishan Pandita, Apuia would be the players to watch out for. Ashutosh Mehta and Subhasish Roy Chowdhury have also made their return to the national team after a long time at this age.
“When I became the national team coach, I even mentioned to Sunil (Chhetri) that he also needs to fight for his position. This fight goes on forever. Without this continuous fight, there is no success,” Stimac said.
“I cannot rely on the past. I can select the squad based on past results, but those players need to work hard. We closely monitor them, and then discuss which players fit into the starting XI,” he further added.
India are going to miss their captain Sunil Chhetri who has been tested positive for COVID-19 and most certainly Sandesh Jhingan will lead the young Indian side. India have lost nine times out of 11 against Oman and will be desperate to turn the tables.
