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Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers: We are here, we are ready, and we will do it: India’s coach Igor Stimac

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With exactly a week left for India to kick off their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers here — beginning on June 8, head coach Igor Stimac spoke out his mind on the toughest team to face, the injuries, the preparations, him dealing with the boys, and much more.

In an interview, he stressed his confidence about qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Excerpts:

Q. We witnessed a spectacle in the stands the last time India played an international match in Kolkata. What are you expecting this time?

A. For the last couple of years we have only been playing away from home. That has been difficult for the team. There have been so many Covid-19 measures, and it has been really difficult. Nobody was thinking about football at that time, and everyone survived some difficulties. Now that we are back to normalcy and can play matches at home again, it feels great.

Q. What is special about Kolkata?

A. Kolkata is a football city. One can feel football, live football, breathe football. you get that extra push that is needed to get the players over the limit. I would like to call all the supporters to come back to the stadium and support us. I felt real passion when I last saw them in Kolkata, and it would be great to play with their support behind our back.

Q. Which team do you think will be the toughest to face in Group D?

A. Afghanistan are the one that come first to mind. More so because physically, they are much stronger. They have so many players from foreign leagues that have well-organised football throughout the year. While these players are playing in quality leagues abroad, we are trying to build that same here, which will take time. That’s why I consider them as one of the major opponents.

Q. What’s your assessment of Hong Kong?

A. Hong Kong have changed a rule that now allows them to naturalise foreigners. So, we will have to see how much better they are now. Foreign players can bring a lot of value to the team. We try to make sure that the players that we bring to the National Team understand the importance of quick decision-making on the pitch. But our boys are doing well, and I’m happy with the work they’ve done since we started camp in Bellary, and then continued the good work in Kolkata.

Q. How confident are you prior to the three matches?

A. We are confident. We have three games to make sure that India qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. That’s the sole objective. We are here, we are ready, and we will do it.
With a week left, how are the preparations going on?

It’s the final week and there are a few things we are working on — putting in the final touches. We are working on set-pieces and on certain aspects of our attack and defence. Obviously, there are different aspects to each of these. There are certain issues, especially with niggling injuries to some players, but we are dealing with them as best we can.

Q. What’s the update on injuries in the camp?

A. Liston (Colaco) had joined us with an injury after the AFC Cup — so that’s an area where we are looking into. He has done well with ATK Mohun Bagan, and he’s a player who can provide real quality in one-on-one situations, and also can pass well, and score. However, Ritwik Das was diagnosed with chickenpox recently, so we have brought in Deepak Tangri as his replacement. Deepak can play both positions in midfield, and as a central defender where we actually prefer him.

Q. Anyone whom you are missing?

A. We miss some others like Rahul KP, Apuia, Vikram, and Rahim Ali. I mention Rahim all the time for a specific reason. Maybe he will be the one to replace Sunil Chhetri. That’s why we need to think of managing these players and treating them well.

Q. What kind of mindset will the team be approaching these three matches with?

A. We are going in with a positive mindset. To be successful you need a positive mindset, a good character, and a little bit of luck. If you go into a game with the intent to defend for 90 minutes, you will not succeed. You need to go into the game with the intention of hurting your opponents, or you will go down – be it in the first five minutes, or in added time.

Q. Is there any pressure on the players?

A. There is absolutely no pressure on them when it comes to the results. Nobody will ask them questions if we fail. The questions will come to me. The pressure on them is to follow the plan that we have set out for them. There is a Head Coach who has a plan and tells them what to do.

Q. What are you telling them?

A. It’s very important to think about what to tell them, and where to push them beyond. You cannot always push the players beyond the limit — you need to pick and choose the moments when you need to do that. What I request of them always is to stay disciplined and follow what we are working on. Of course, they can make mistakes, and things can be a bit here and there in the 90 minutes. But that’s football — you make mistakes. But the most important thing is not to repeat them.

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‘The Doctors Warned Me’: Neymar Gives Update About Injury After Limping Off Just 30 Minutes Into His Second Al-Hilal Appearance

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Brazilian superstar Neymar recently made his comeback to the football pitch in Al Hilal’s match against Esteghlal. However the joy was shortlived as Neymar was substituted after 30 minutes into the match. The 32 year-old forward had to come off with three minutes remaining, having seemed to pull up after stretching his leg out for the ball in the penalty area.

After the match Neymar updated about his injury on social media, he said: “I felt like a CRAMP but very strong! I will do exams and hope it’s nothing more It’s normal for this to happen after 1 year, the doctors had already warned me, this is why I need to be careful and have more minutes to play.”

Neymar’s struggle with injury

Al Hilal had planned a slow return for Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, who suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury during Brazil’s qualifier against Uruguay shortly after joining the Saudi side and underwent surgery last November.

Neymar undewent knee operation, only making his return two weeks ago when he came off the bench late in the AFC Champions League win against Al-Ain. It is not yet known how severe Neymar’s latest issue, but the ex-Barcelona star will be out of action for the next three weeks regardless.

Neymar was also left off Brazil’s latest squad for a pair of November World Cup qualifiers, with coach Dorival saying the team and federation didn’t want to rush his return to the national team.

Despite Neymar getting injured, Al-Hilal managed a 3-0 win against their Iranian opponents thanks to a hat-trick from Aleksandar Mitrovic. Al-Hilal remains top of the 12-team group, where the top eight will advance to the Round of 16. It is above Saudi Arabian rival Al-Ahli on goal difference after the team from Jeddah thrashed Al-Shorta of Iraq 5-1

Whats next for Al Hilal?

Al-Hilal’s next match is scheduled on Nov 25, where they will be facing Al-Sadd. Currently Al Hilal have topped the chart by winning 4 out of 4 matches.

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‘No Place For Criminals In Society’: Vinicius Junior Supports Lamine Yamal Following Racist Chants Against Him During Real Madrid vs Barcelona Match

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Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has come out in support of Lamine Yamal who was subjected to racial abuse during El Clasico match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Vinicius have been outspoken against racism in football, addressing the abuse he has personally endured.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) Vincius wrote, “It’s regrettable what happened yesterday at the Bernabéu with racist insults. There is no place for these criminals in our society. All my support to Lamine, Ansu and Raphinha. I know that Madrid and the police will do things to identify and punish the guilty!!

Yamal who scored in Barcelona’s stunning win, became a target of racist chanting from a section of fans at the Santiago Bernabéu. The incident has led LaLiga to open an investigation. The club released a statement which said, “Real Madrid strongly condemns any behavior involving racism, xenophobia, or violence in football and sports,” 

“Real Madrid has launched an investigation to locate and identify the perpetrators of these regrettable and despicable insults, in order to take the appropriate disciplinary and legal actions.”

Barcelona beats Real Madrid

Barcelona ha the first bragging right of the season in the El Clasico with 4-0 win over Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. Besides Yamal, Lewandowski and Rapinha were the other goal scorers. The loss meant Real Madrid lost the opportunity to equal FC Barcelona’s record of 43 unbeaten matches in La Liga history occurring between 2017 and 2018.

However, Yamal managed to break Alfonso Navarro’s 77-year-old record when he scored a goal in El Classico. Navarro was 17 years and 356 days old when he accomplished the feat, but Yamal did it in 17 years and 106 days. Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe had two goals ruled out for offside on a frustrating first Clasico appearance for Los Blancos, who now trail league leaders Barcelona by six points.

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‘No Concerns About KL’: Ryan Ten Doeschate Defends Struggling Team India Batter Ahead Of 2nd Test vs New Zealand

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India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Tuesday that middle-order batters KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan are locked in a selection battle for the second Test against New Zealand here even though head coach Gautam Gambhir is keen to give the former, a long rope.

With India looking to bounce back from the eight-wicket thrashing at Bengaluru in the opening Test, focus will be on the team combination with Washington Sundar being added to the squad. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are both aiming to shake off injury concerns for the match starting Thursday.

“Yeah, there’s no point in sugarcoating it, there’s a fight for a spot,” ten Doeschate told the media when asked if Rahul and Sarfaraz were battling for a place in the team, here at the MCA Stadium ahead of India’s training session.

“Sarfaraz was obviously brilliant in the last Test. I went to KL after the last Test (and) said how many balls do you play at (and) miss at? He didn’t play at (and) miss at one ball and that’s what tends to happen when you’re not getting runs.

“There’s certainly no concerns about KL, he’s batting nicely, he’s in a good mental space. But we are certainly going to have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test and look at the pitch now and decide what’s going to be best for the team,” he said.

Sarfaraz scored a second-innings 150 in the Bengaluru game, while Rahul remained off-colour in both essays.

While admitting that it is difficult to keep Rahul out of the equation in the Test format, ten Doeschate said head coach Gautam Gambhir is “keen to” give him a long rope.

“It’s not like we’re worried about his form. If you go on just the past three months since Gauti has been in here, he’s keen to give him (Rahul) as much rope as we can. We have a lot of faith in him,” he said.

“But at the same time, it’s a very competitive environment, with Sarfaraz getting 150 plus runs (222 not out) in the Irani Trophy final. The decision will be what’s best for the team, but we’ll certainly back all the guys in,” he added.

“He’ll be good to keep in the Test as well” – Ryan Ten Doeschate on Rishabh Pant

Pant, who did not keep wickets for a significant part of the opening Test, and Shubman Gill, who missed the match due to stiffness in his neck, are close to attaining their full fitness.

“Rishabh is pretty good. I think Rohit (Sharmna) touched on it the other day. He was having a little bit of discomfort at the end range of his movement with the knee. But fingers crossed, he’ll be good to keep in the Test as well,” he said.

“He (Gill) looks so (available for this Test). He has batted last week in Bangalore, he had a few nets, he’s got a little bit of discomfort, but I think he’ll be good to go for the Test,” he added.

Ten Doeschate said the addition of Washington Sundar is “no desperate measure” but to add a bowling option who would take the ball away from the Kiwis left-handers.

“Definitely not. They (New Zealand) are filled with four left-handers in the XI. We’ve had Washy around the white-ball squad for a while and we like the way he operates. It’s also nice to see that guys are getting rewarded for Ranji Trophy performance as well.”

“We just want to make sure we’re absolutely prepared for conditions here and if that does mean taking the ball away from the left-hander, we want that option,” he added.

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