After the 2021 SAFF Championships, Stimac won his second trophy on a night when India,
placed 106th, defeated a higher-ranked team for the first time under his leadership.
It was a night filled with firsts. Igor Stimac hadn’t won a trophy at home in four years. In the lone match he had participated in in 2019, the Croat head coach was getting to know the players. With a 2-0 victory over the Kyrgyz Republic to claim the title of the Tri-nation
International Football Tournament in Imphal on Tuesday, India changed that on an evening
illuminated by flares—blue when Sandesh Jhingan scored and yellow streaks when Sunil
Chhetri did. without giving up a goal.
After the 2021 SAFF Championships, Stimac won his second trophy on a night when India,
who are placed 106th in the FIFA rankings, defeated a side ranked higher (Kyrgyz Republic,
who are 94th) for the first time under his leadership. Despite a steady stream of international
matches, Manipur had never even heard of international football when India last defeated
Puerto Rico, a team with a higher ranking, in 2016. (there were seven in this squad of 23
and Udanta Singh in the stands). India won the competition at home for the first time since
the 2018 Hero Inter-Continental Cup.
Since May 28, 2022, Pritam Kotal had not begun playing for India. Kotal was either on the
bench or out of six games since the friendly against Jordan, according to Stimac out
him.Kotal has won back Stimac’s confidence, despite playing centre back, with a steady
performance in the Indian Super League. Though he was bothered by Alykulov Gulzhigit’s
quick turns and even received a booking, Kotal played the entire game despite experiencing
cramping.
Anirudh Thapa and Brandon Fernandes, two offensive midfielders, began together for the
first time since the Asian Cup qualifier against Cambodia in June and just the third time in 25 games since the 1-2 loss to Oman in 2019.
Jhingan scored his first goal since a June 2017 exhibition win over Nepal by stabbing the
ball home at Tokotaev Erzhan’s near post.The India central defender outran Kozubaev
Tamirlan’s challenge to reach the end of a weighted free kick from Fernandes. That was
Fernandes’ sixth assist in 19 games since making his Stimac debut in July 2019, making him India’s go-to player on set plays.
Fernandes hung corner kicks at the far post for the 57 minutes he was on the pitch at
Khuman Lampak Stadium, and he also once put Erzhan to the test with a free kick. A crucial defensive move was also made to prevent Shukurov Alimardon’s effort from troubling Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who had already made two fine stops early in the second half.
Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte, two offensive midfielders, provided more from
open play than Fernandes did. Naorem Mahesh Singh, his replacement, did. The wide midfielder, who started the season in anonymity, concluded it by receiving an India call, coming close to scoring on Tuesday, and then winning the penalty by compelling Davydov Nikolai to bundle him. The captain performed his one-step dance flawlessly while the entire room chanted “Chhetri, Chhetri.” The two active players in front of Chhetri, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, both scored during the international period in which Chhetri scored his 85th goal for India.
