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'India played good football for 75 minutes'


Published : 05 Oct 2021 07:40 PM | Updated : 06 Oct 2021 12:38 PM

India played out a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their SAFF Championship 2021 opener on Monday, despite taking the lead courtesy a Sunil Chhetri strike in the first half.

India head coach Igor Stimac was understandably disappointed with the result as he stated that India could not capitalise on their experience and finish off the game despite being the better side for the majority of the match.

"When you boost the confidence of the opponents and you give them the chance, they will take it. So we were punished today for not being reasonable in certain situations. We did not use our experience, because this was an experienced Indian side. I expected much more in that sense.

"Nonetheless, it was a good game of football. Congratulations to Bangladesh, they came back and scored. We have to look forward now. We don't have much time," stated the Croatian coach.

Read more: Bangladesh start SAFF mission with victory

Stimac further suggested that his team were collectively good for 75 minutes in the match but lost focus in the remaining 15 minutes in various patches during the game which eventually cost them the win.

"We have another three games, we need to play well. I need to say that our boys played good football for more than 75 minutes. They played progressive football, they were passing well, coming to dangerous positions. But 15 minutes, it is too much of a time to not being organised, giving away too many balls and making too many mistakes. So we need to work on that and we will be okay," the India head coach opined.