India coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday warned his aspect in opposition to getting tricked by the comparatively decrease FIFA rankings of different groups in Group A going into the SAFF Championship 2023, and urged the Blue Tigers to not lose their depth. India have been drawn with Pakistan, Nepal and Kuwait in Group A within the event. India will open their marketing campaign in opposition to Pakistan on Wednesday in Bengaluru on the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. “Forget about the FIFA rankings! All the teams in our group and in general in the tournament are very special. All four teams are quite efficient and can produce different kind of football. The crowd will love it as there will be a lot of goals. We have a very serious group and some tough opponents,” stated Stimac through the pre-match press convention.

Stimac didn’t deny the truth that the Indian staff’s confidence is excessive after profitable the Intercontinental Cup on Sunday, beating Lebanon 2-0.

“The mood in the camp is bright after our win in the Intercontinental Cup. We can be happy. As the coaching staff, we only can show the team how to win the match and once they enter the field, it is entirely up to the players how to do it,” he stated.

Despite the stirring victory within the Intercontinental Cup, Stimac stated India can’t take Pakistan flippantly as they may very well be a harmful opponent.

“They could be the surprise package of the tournament. They have a very good team, and it does not matter that they have not got the results going their way recently.

“They performed three matches (within the Four-Nation Cup) not too long ago with out a lot follow and so they may very well be very aggressive right here. We know the robust and weak factors of the groups and we have to work on them,” he said.

Stimac said the team will have to get used to the conditions in Bengaluru very soon as the experience in Odisha was vastly different.

“We are coming right here from (Odisha) temperature hovering over 40 levels, 48 levels at instances. We haven’t got a lot time however we have to get used to the cooler circumstances in Bengaluru, beautiful for soccer, and want to coach on the factitious floor with sluggish actions,” he added.

The Intercontinental Cup triumph was India’s first victory over Lebanon in 46 years and that skipper and No. 1 striker Sunil Chhetri managed to etch his name on the score sheet would boost the team’s morale.

The Indian team would hope for Chhetri to continue in the same vein in the SAFF Championship as well.

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