Coach Stimac rues India's one-man attack after Oman agony
NEW DELHI: India's over-reliance on forward Sunil Chhetri and the team's inexperience cost them their Asian qualifying tie for the 2022 World Cup against Oman, coach Igor Stimac rued after the 2-1 loss on Thursday .
Udanta Singh hit the crossbar and Sandesh Jhingan's header missed the mark before the talismanic Chhetri's 24th-minute strike put the hosts ahead in the group E match in the east Indian city of Guwahati.India dominated the first half but looked jaded in the second though they held on to their slender lead until the 82nd minute. Rabia Alawi Al Mandhar then conjured up a brace to give Oman the three points and a dejected Stimac felt they could have killed off the contest in the first half itself. "We're very sad. We deserved more from this game," the Croat, who was appointed India coach in May, said after the match. "We could've punished the Omani team heavily in the first half, we could have killed the game before the break, but we were not lucky there."You see all of our goals come from Sunil but he cannot score every time." India is currently ranked 103 in the world by FIFA and the cricket-mad country of 1.3 billion are yet to qualify for the World Cup finals. Stimac said he was proud of the team's display except in the last 20 minutes when they surrendered the lead. "Our only mistake was running with the through ball too quick and losing the ball," said the 51-year-old, who was part of the Croatia team who finished third at the 1998 World Cup in France. "When you are leading, you need to keep passing the ball, keeping the ball and making the opponent run and chase and not losing the ball after three seconds. That was the difference. "It's about experience. My players were fit, in fact fitter than Oman, but they were more experienced." India face a tougher task in their next match when they take on Asian Cup champions Qatar on Tuesday but Stimac said his team were neither intimidated not down on motivation for the match in Doha. "It's not going to be easy, we know that. Qatar is different, the strongest team here but that's a good game in front of us. "Obviously we need to change four-five players for that game. No reason to have a fear going there. We will try to play good football and try to score goals." Stimac said despite the defeat by Oman, he saw bright future for his side which would only get better with experience. "It's a new Indian team, absolutely different from before ... we have many more options now. It's not just 13-14 payers anymore, this is very good. "The time will come when we are not going to lose game like this. We're going to kill those games in the first half. For that we need to work very hard."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Amazon India plans to scrap single-use plastic, joins rival FlipkartNEW DELHI (REUTERS) - Amazon.com Inc's India unit plans to replace single-use plastic in its packaging by June 2020, the company said on Wednesday (Sept 4), the latest move by an e-commerce giant to weed out plastic use from the country's cities and towns that frequently rank among the world's most polluted.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »
Amazon India to weed out single-use plastic packaging by June 2020BENGALURU/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's India unit said on Wednesday it would replace all single use plastic in its packaging by June 2020 with paper cushions, the latest major company to join the country's fight against environmental pollution. Amazon's move comes ahead of Prime
Read more »
India and Russia target $30 billion in trade by 2025, announce new energy dealsIndia and Russia are targeting $30 billion of annual trade by 2025, India's foreign secretary said on Wednesday as a string of energy deals deepened economic ties between the nations. Seeking to boost bilateral trade from its current $11 billion, the two countries announced deals in sectors including
Read more »
India wants British government intervention to restore shooting in BirminghamIndia continues its relentless bid to get shooting back in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with the country's sports minister Kiren ...
Read more »
Man killed over kidnapping rumours as mob attacks soar in IndiaNEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian police said Thursday (Sept 5) that five people had been arrested for lynching a man after accusing him of kidnapping children, the latest in a renewed string of attacks fuelled by malicious rumour-mongering.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »
Deal with India on Sikh pilgrim corridor close, Pakistan saysISLAMABAD (DPA) - Pakistan and India are close to an agreement that would open a corridor and new border crossing to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit one of their holiest shrines despite Kashmir tensions, officials in Islamabad said.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »