The Blue Tigers are set to play their final preparatory match ahead of their AFC Cup third round qualifiers in Kolkata next month.
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Indian national men’s football team head coach Igor Stimac has always been vocal about playing games against higher ranked opponents in order to achieve greater heights. The Blue Tigers are set to play Jordan in an international friendly at the Qatar SC Stadium on Saturday. The Croatian tactician feels “another game against a stronger team will always help”. Meanwhile it will be India’s final preparatory match ahead of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in June. The Blue Tigers are heading into the contest on the back of a one month preparation camp. Talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri has returned to the Indian team after almost six months absence due to injury issues.
? MATCHDAY ?
The #BlueTigers ? ?? take on Jordan ?? in a friendly match tonight ?
? Qatar Sports Club ?️
⏰ 9.30 PM IST ?
? Indian Football Team Facebook page ?#JORIND ⚔️ #BackTheBlue ? #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/dI19T2QyzT— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) May 28, 2022
Jordan are ranked 91st in the FIFA rankings, 15 places above India.The Chivalrous will start as the favorites against the Blue Tigers, who don’t have the best of records against the middle-eastern opponents. Jordan’s last outing was against New Zealand in January, which the Chivalrous won 3-1. Ali Olwan netted a brace while Musa Al-Taamari converted a spot-kick to get the better of the All whites. “Another game against a stronger team will always help. It’s our last friendly game prior to qualifiers, and we need to get final answers on certain questions. Some of our youngsters will have a great opportunity to gain more experience at the international level,” Indian head coach Igor Stimac was quoted as saying by the AIFF Website.
Read more: India vs Jordan: How could the Blue Tigers lineup in the international friendly?
Since taking charge of the Indian team in 2019, this was the first time the Croatian got a chance to train his chosen players for such a long period. He had initially selected 41 players before cutting short the list to 25 for the upcoming friendly and the AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers. “The fitness levels are quite good. We have another 10 days in front of us, and it should be perfect. The boys have done a great job, and they need to be rewarded with some good results in the Qualifiers,” the Croatian further added.
Stimac would have a decision to make about the ATK Mohun Bagan players in the squad, who joined the team only two days ago after competing in the AFC Cup group stage. The likes of Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Pritam Kotal, Subhashish Bose and Sandesh Jhingan played a key role in the Kolkata-based club’s qualification to the AFC Cup inter-zonal play-offs. On asking about having a full quota of players available, he said, “They came very late (May 26, morning) after playing three games in seven days, and hence, we need to be careful with them. We still have over 36 hours ahead for them to recover, and I will be making a decision whether to field them or not on the 28th morning,”
