Afghanistan vs India: 'Same Old Problem,' Says Igor Stimac After Goalless Draw In Saudi Arabia

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Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac lamented lack of accuracy in front of goals after the Blue Tigers settled for a goalless draw against Afghanistan in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 2 match in Abha (Saudi Arabia) on Thursday (March 22).

In a match where the likes of Manvir Singh, Vikram Pratap Singh and Subhasish Bose missed some telling chances in front of the goal, the Croatian coach once again blamed the existing problems of lack of enough strikers in the Indian football system behind the lack of goals.

"We were much closer to win this game with the chances we created," said Igor Stimac during the post-match press conference. "But obviously the same old problem was following us. We tried all the players we had in our frontline but nothing worked.

Manvir Singh, who scored India's last winning goal six matches ago against Kuwait last November, had two good chances to score in either sides of the half but went wide on both situations from first touches while Vikram couldn't find the target as well. Subhasish Bose headed wide from a corner late in the game while India lacked fluency in attack.

"There are few areas we need to improve because we complicated simple things in offensive areas. The defense did well but we need to be much better in passing in midfield and much better in attacking in the box when the crosses are coming from the front," said the coach.

Midfielder Jeakson Singh, who returned to the national side after a long injury lay-off, said that the result was disappointing but they will turn focus to the next game as they play at home next against the same outfit in Guwahati on March 26.

An unwanted result in that game may cast a serious doubt on Stimac's future with the Indian football team as the coach is on thin ice since the AFC Asian Cup debacle while the coach made his feeling apparent that his target was always to qualify for the third round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. India have never made it that far in the World Cup qualifiers before but ignited hopes since defeating Kuwait 1-0 last year.