Could’ve Won by a Bigger Scoreline: Igor Stimac Says Sunil Chhetri ‘Unfortunate Not to Score’

India beat Myanmar 1-0 within the opening recreation of the Tri-Nation International Football Tournament, however head coach Igor Stimac mentioned on the post-match press convention that the margin of victory ought to have been larger given the hosts’ full dominance within the recreation.

Two selections involving captain Sunil Chhetri – an obvious foul on him not given as a penalty within the first half and a objective disallowed for offside – led Stimac to state, “For me, the result’s 3-0, not 1-0.”

“I cannot say anything to my players as they did everything we agreed upon. Goalkeeper Amrinder was excellent tonight, and Sunil (Chhetri) was unfortunate not to score. He was hungry for goals and could’ve had a hat trick,” mentioned the Croatian.

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While many wouldn’t have anticipated Chhetri to play the whole 90 minutes in Imphal simply 4 days after a gruelling ISL Final, the skipper’s starvation and willpower to get again to nationwide responsibility was what helped Stimac make the choice.

“Sunil was the primary participant to make it to the camp after the ISL Final. He didn’t waste a minute however relatively rushed to be part of the nationwide staff. That proves his starvation and dedication. He is likely one of the fittest gamers within the squad and might play constantly for 3 days,” the coach said.

In the pre-match press conference, Stimac said one of the elements of these March friendlies will be to celebrate the players’ achievements in the ISL and recognise their good performances.

In line with that, he handed out three national team debuts. It wasn’t just a historic night for the capacity crowd at the Khuman Lampak Stadium, but also for Mehtab Singh, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Ritwik Kumar Das, who earned their first India caps.

Mehtab, who was named in the starting XI, had a mixed debut according to Stimac. “He was great but sometimes too nervous. But he will get used to the pressure as we only had one training session before the match.”

But the debutant who impressed the Croatian probably the most was Naorem Mahesh Singh, who was the truth is a last-minute call-up due to Sivasakthi Narayanan’s withdrawal due to damage.

“Mahesh was a huge shock. I noticed what he’s able to within the ISL, however when gamers come from the ISL to the nationwide staff, it’s a totally different sort of stress. He was good tonight and every part he did was excellent by the e-book,” Stimac mentioned.

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