“We deserved to win this game,” Igor Stimac firmly believes India were the better team in the 0-0 draw against Lebanon

India played a 0-0 draw against Lebanon in the Intercontinental Cup on June 15. The hosts had a fair share of chances but neither team could find the back of the net. Anirudh Thapa and Rahim Ali had the best opportunities for the Blue Tigers but surprisingly both failed to find the net.

India head coach Igor Stimac was pleased with the Indian team’s performance against Lebanon. He was happy with the defence and also highlighted that his men had better opportunities to win the match.

“It was a good game. Lots of action with both sides giving their all to create a good football game. We knew that we were facing good opposition today that would test our opportunities, as is what happened. We defended well and congratulations to my boys. They stuck to the plan, they created more than enough chances to win the game, I’m sorry for them that they didn’t score very clear opportunities. We had much better chances than Lebanon and we deserved to win this game. That didn’t happen, but we’ll ensure to win it in three days time,” Stimac stated at the post-match press conference.

Lebanon played very physical football and that at times broke India’s momentum in buildups. Stimac shared how teams in the AFC Asian Cup will be playing like this and his team needs to be prepared for this gameplay. “That’s how football is played. All teams in the Asian Cup will play like that,” Stimac highlighted. “We had a different approach to them today, we had many aggressive players up front. We had many players impressing in the technical part. We were the better side overall. I feel sorry for the fans who showed up in big numbers. I invite them to show up in bigger numbers for the final.”

Stimac has been very flexible in his team selection throughout the tournament. He has selected different players in different positions. He rotated Sahal Abdul Samad and Naorem Mahesh Singh in the no. 10 role in this match. He believes that the players are more than flexible to play in multiple positions. “These boys can play in many positions. A left-winger can play on the right side and even No.10 or centre-forward. All of them can do that because they communicate well between themselves and understand each other well,” he explained.

Lastly, Stimac was very delighted with the defensive work that his team has shown in the tournament and beyond. This was India’s fifth successive clean sheet and the Croatian highlighted how much effort that the boys have put in to reach this level. He believes a solid defence and preferably a clean sheet helps the team in creating more chances upfront and also increases the chances of winning a match if the forwards do their job with precision.

“This is our fifth clean sheet in a row now. Even if you play against the 200th-ranked team, you can concede goals. You see how far we’ve gone with our defending. We’re never allowing our opponents to create easy chances. They had one clear chance today, but this is Lebanon. Against Mongolia and Vanuatu, they didn’t even come close to scoring. That is the base we’re building. To keep clean sheets and make sure that we can create more chances going forward,” he concluded.

India will play Lebanon again in the final of the Intercontinental Cup on June 18. This will be the big clash for the Blue Tigers, who had won this tournament in the past when they defeated Kenya in the big clash back in 2018.