India men’s national team head coach, Igor Stimac wants his side to show the same hunger and determination against Hong Kong as they did against Afghanistan as he looks to lead the Blue Tigers to 2023 Asian Cup qualification.
The Blue Tigers registered a late 2-1 win over Afghanistan in their previous game and Stimac believes his team’s display of grit in their previous game against Afghanistan will set a precedent and hold them well in the future.
Hong Kong currently top Group D on goal difference and Stimac knows that his side will need to bring their A game if they are to beat them on Tuesday, June 14.
Igor Stimac🗣️: “Knowledge of football in India is so low. You can’t criticize points you don’t understand. I just ask for patience from the fans, nothing else.”#IndianFootball #AFCAsianCup2023Qualifiers pic.twitter.com/tScit7enFs
— IFTWC (@IFTWC) June 12, 2022
“Of course, this game is equally important as the previous two games, there is less pressure obviously but not less hunger and motivation for us to go out, start from the very first minute as we did against Afghanistan and do everything to win this game,” he said at a press conference.
“Whenever we’ll prepare for the upcoming games, I will remind our boys about the attitude, hunger, and passion with which they started the game against Afghanistan. It needs to be the talking point before each game, with the same aggression, passion, attitude, and showing a tiger heart. To come on the pitch as tigers, to behave as tigers, and to show to everyone that we have big hearts and we’ll fight you, irrespective of the opponent we play,” the Croatian added.
India go into their final game full of confidence, and will need to definitely show the kind of grit on the pitch as they did against Afghanistan, in order to ensure that they qualify for the main tournament.
