Igor Stimac Future With Indian Team: Could World Cup qualifiers be last chance for coach?

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Igor Stimac is currently on thin ice with the All India Football Federation. There have been various reasons that led to Stimac losing favour with the country's football house and now World Cup qualifiers might be his last chance.

Stimac delivered some good results last year and has promised to deliver more. He also has become a fan favourite because of his brutally honest opinions, but it's also causing problems for him with the authorities.

Igor Stimac has iterated several times that he wants to take India to at least the third round of the World Cup qualifiers. This seems like a doable target with the current Indian football team. However, if Stimac fails, then AIFF might not keep him around after.

Stimac took charge of the Indian national team as their head coach back in 2019. He has clearly helped the team improve. In 2023, he helped the team win 3 trophies - the Tri-Nation Series, Intercontinental Cup, and the SAFF Championship.

As a result, going into this year's AFC Asian Cup, fans had a lot of expectations. However, India delivered their worst performance in the history of the competition. Stimac already said the team's not expecting anything from the tournament.

Even so, their disastrous run in the Asian Cup saw many people lose their trust on Stimac. Additionally, he has always been outspoken about what's needed to improve the team's performance even if it implicated wrongdoings on AIFF's or the Indian government’s part.

Before the Asian Games, Stimac sent a heartfelt message to the Indian government to send their team. On the other hand, he has been vocal about how the government should allow foreign players of Indian origin to play for the Indian football team.

This is currently impossible as the government doesn't allow dual citizenship. Even after Stimac's rebellious stance, AIFF doesn't want to make any rash decisions regarding the coach. Especially considering he seems to be determined to take India far into the World Cup qualifiers.