Favourite Tag is Nothing, Can’t Underestimate B’desh: Igor Stimac 

Kolkata: India head coach Igor Stimac on Monday said a ‘favourite’ tag in sport means nothing ahead of their Group E Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup tie against Bangladesh here.

Giving India’s famous 0-0 draw against Qatar as an example, Stimac, who was part of the Croatian team that finished third in the 1998 World Cup and helped them as a coach to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, warned the home supporters not to underestimate Bangladesh who is ranked 83 places below them.

“Being favourite in a game is nothing. We proved that in Qatar. It’s 11 v 11. There are favourites and underdogs but that doesn’t mean the favourite will win. It’s about teamwork, it’s about team building. Analyzing ourselves and ask ourselves what we can do. No point in trying to analyze others. If we can work like this we will do well,” Stimac told reporters at the pre-match press conference here.

Bangladesh gave a good account of themselves against Qatar in their last qualifying match at home on Thursday. They lost 0-2 but created a flurry of chances.

Asked about their rivals, Stimac said Bangladesh should have won against Qatar keeping in mind the chances they created.

“I wouldn’t like any of you to underestimate Bangladesh. Bangladesh did a very good job against Qatar. They created more chances. They should have won the game.

“They have not come here to lose the match they have come here to win. They have worked very hard in the last 18 months. They have some very talented youngsters just like us. Don’t make it hard by underestimating them. Let’s go into this game by being respectful to the Bangladeshi team,” said the 52-year-old, who took over the reins in May from Stephen Constantine.

Bangladesh, currently ranked 187th, have won seven of their 13 international matches since May 2018 when Jamie Day took charge of the side, and Stimac pointed out the statistic as well to highlight India’s job at hand on Tuesday. IANS

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