Doha, Jan 4:
The Indian football team members have started their preparation for the AFCAsian Cup in full swing after reaching here.
The Blue Tigers have beendrawn into a comparatively tough group where they will have to face higher-ranked Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria.
Makingtheir fifth appearance in the AFC Asian Cup, the Sunil Chhetri-ledIndian team will be eyeing qualification for the knockout stages. Thetop two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placedteams out of six, will advance to the Round of 16.
The Blue Tigers areset to commence their Asian Cup campaign against Australia on January13, followed by matches against Uzbekistan on January 18 and Syria onJanuary 23.
Head coach Igor Stimac is pleased to receive a warmwelcome after landing in Doha and delighted to have the backing ofnumerous fans on foreign soil as he believes this crowd’s support willbe pivotal for his team to settle down in the environment and enhancetheir confidence.
“Excited to be back here in Doha, which isbecoming kind of a home to us, and we are happy about it because the fanbase we have here is huge. It’s enormous, and hopefully, it’s going tohelp our boys settle down into the first game in the tournament in aproper way,” Stimac told aiff.com.
“Having supporters on yourside in big numbers is always an advantage, and I hope this huge supportwill help our boys to boost their confidence. Because how you start thegame, how you open the game, is really important, and it can affect thefinal result,” he added.
Stimac anticipates a toughchallenge in the upcoming tournament due to the potential and strengthof the opposition teams. However, the Croatian coach wants his playersto concentrate on themselves, aiming to boost their self-confidence.
Hebelieves that this tournament will provide valuable exposure,especially for players participating in such a competition for the firsttime. Stimac sees this experience as crucial preparation before theirnext World Cup qualifying matches.
“We are well aware of our opponents’ strengths and know that nobody expects us to dominate these games,” he stated.
“So,we’re going to work on our self-confidence, mostly focusing on thedefensive shape and verticality in our game when we get the ball. So,the focus will be on how to enjoy this tournament and make sure that 17out of 26 boys who are here for the first time participating in a bigtournament get the experience which is needed, and which will help usreach the third round of the World Cup qualifier,” the Croatianasserted.
Stimac shares insights on the process of how he wants his players to be ready before the games. Speaking in context, he said: “Preparingthe team for such a big tournament as the qualifiers for the Asian Cupor World Cup is a huge process, with many things that are to be done toprepare players well,” Stimac said.
“So, starting from the gym work,meditation sessions, football pitch practices, proper rest, propernutrition, and tactical meetings, which will explain to the players theresponsibilities they are taking care of inside the match. So, as I say,it’s a complex thing, and you need to have such great characters insidethe team. You need to make sure that the profile of the player youchoose adds an extra quality to the dressing room,” he explained.
Stimacalso shares a message for the fans, assuring them that the team iscommitted to giving their absolute best to make the nation proud.
“Ican say we love you guys; we know how much you expect from us. We’regoing to do our best to make you happy, and hopefully, we’re going toenjoy this tournament in a proper way,” he signed off
