'Never left promises unfulfilled': Stimac recalls old remark post Asian Cup qualification

Indian football team coach Igor Stimac took to his official social media account on Wednesday and recalled one of his old remarks after the Blue Tigers registered an emphatic 4-0 win over Hong Kong to qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. This was the first time that India had qualified for two consecutive times for the continental competition.

After the Indian football team qualified for the AFC Asian Cup for the second time in a row, coach Igor Stimac took to his official Twitter account and explained how he has always given his all to 'never' leave his 'promises unfulfilled.' His latest tweet comes after he had told a fan last year that the Blue Tigers can not only qualify for the continental competition but they would do so undoubtedly.

Igor Stimac & Sunil Chhetri express delight on India's qualification

India completed their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers 2023 campaign in style at the VYBK Stadium in Kolkata as they bagged a massive 4-0 win over Hong Kong in the final game of Group D. Anwar Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh and Ishan Pandita were the goalscorers for the Blue Tigers.

Following an outstanding performance against their Asian opponents, Indian football team coach Igor Stimac expressed his delight by stating, "I feel good and happy, but not for myself -- I feel good and happy for the players, I feel good and happy for the people who have supported us throughout the past three years which has not been easy. I am very happy because of these wonderful people and supporters who cheered for us in Kolkata - all of that was really important to us. I appreciate it."

Stimac also credited the side's discipline and attitude by adding, "There was some tremendous work done in the past 7 weeks. The boys were aggressive when it was needed, and they were patient when required. They counter-attacked when it was needed, and did the middle press, and high press when it was needed. They kept rising up, never coming down after every single match."

Meanwhile, captain Sunil Chhetri added, "To seal the top spot in the group in such style, and in front of all these fans is a special feeling. It was so wonderful to see Manvir score and so wonderful to see Ishan score, and great to see Anwar score at the start. It is always about the team and it is so nice to see. We need to make sure we prepare well and have the biggest pool to choose from. We need to make sure that we go in the best possible way, and give a good account of ourselves in the Asian Cup."

(With inputs from ANI)