Indian men’s football team head coach, Igor Stimac lauded the players of the Indian team for their victory by 2-1 against Oman in their first match of the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers. “The entire credit goes to the boys especially given the fact that they didn’t have much time to prepare for this. The togetherness they displayed on the pitch, and their tactical discipline makes me extremely happy. But this is just one game, and there are two more to go,” Head Coach Igor Stimac said.

The 2-1 victory was India’s first-ever victory against Oman at the U-23 level. But the Coach wasn’t much willing to read into it. “I have told my boys to forget this result. It’s always important how you leave a tournament, and not how you start it. We concentrate on the next game, and we go one by one,” Stimac added.

Following the win, India joins the Kyrgyz Republic at the top of Group E with equal points and an identical goal difference. India is scheduled to face hosts UAE at the same venue on Wednesday in their next fixture.