India look to gain maximum from games against higher-ranked Bahrain and Belarus in build up to Asian Cup final-round qualifiers
India football head coach Igor Stimac
India football team chief coach Igor Stimac believes rankings won't matter when his team clash with Asian heavyweights Bahrain and Belarus in two friendlies later this month.
Bahrain, ranked 89th in the FIFA world rankings, host India (ranked 104th) on March 23 in Manama. Three days later, India play Belarus (94th). The matches are a part of India's preparation for the Asian Cup final-round qualifiers (June 8 to 14) to be held at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, in June where the hosts play Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia in Group D matches.
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"We have chosen our opponents [for the two friendlies] carefully. They are better ranked sides than us, but I always believe that rankings mean nothing. Whatever you plan to do, you should do on the pitch during the 90 minutes of the game. Bahrain are a very competitive side. These friendlies will show us where we stand," Stimac said during a virtual media interaction on Monday.
The Croatian spoke highly of the ongoing Indian Super League and how it has thrown up some new faces for Team India. "The ISL is going on well and we are just grateful that we can get some football here in India. It's been two-and-a-half years since we last played a football match in India [v Bangladesh in Kolkata]. We will use these friendlies as a chance to give opportunity to some new players, who have performed very well this season [at the ISL] and to see if they can manage to play at the international stage and if we can count on them for the upcoming qualifiers in June," added Stimac.
With skipper Sunil Chhetri out injured, Stimac mentioned that the captain's responsibilities will be shouldered either by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu or defender Sandesh Jhinghan.
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