New Delhi: Bracing up for an unfamiliar astro-turf, sub zero temperatures and a sprightly opponent in Afghanistan, India’s football coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday conceded that his team’s winless streak in the World Cup qualifiers won’t be easy to break in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The away fixture against Afghanistan on November 14 is crucial for India to remain in the hunt in the World Cup qualifying. The Afghans are placed third in the group with one win and two losses, a notch above India who have two draws and a defeat so far. “The climatic condition in Dushanbe is very different from what we have experienced in India at this time. It’s very cold and mercury level drops to closer to sub-zero,” Stimac said.
The war-ravaged Afghanistan chose Dushanbe as their home venue for the second round qualifiers of the World Cup. The Group E match will be played on artificial turf amid near freezing temperatures.
“Moreover, the match is scheduled on an artificial turf which our players are not used to. Afghanistan have chosen the venue to make others’ life difficult and we have an uphill task in front of us to overcome it,” he added. India are fourth spot in Group E with just two points after consecutive draws against Asian champions Qatar and Bangladesh.
They had lost to Oman in their first match on September 5 in Guwahati. The absence of a direct flight to Dushanbe also made the situation difficult as the team had to leave after the November 10 Indian Super League match involving Bengaluru FC players. (PTI)
Creating chances not enough: Chhetri
DubaiL: Talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday asked his team-mates to pull up their socks and produce an improved performance in the team’s crunch World Cup qualifying round match against Afghanistan on Thursday.
After inspiring performance against Asian champions Qatar (0-0 draw), India played out a 1-1 draw against lower-ranked Bangladesh, who were on the verge of running away with the match before the home side’s late equaliser in Kolkata on October 15.
Igor Stimac’s side are now at the fourth spot in the Group E table with two points and the Thursday’s match at Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe will be a crunch game for India to remain in the hunt in the qualifying round.
The war-ravaged Afghanistan chose Dushanbe as their home venue for the second round qualifiers of the World Cup. (PTI)