Igor Stimac will face another obstacle in preparing for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, as he is expected to get only one full week of preparation ahead of the game against Afghanistan. The ISL season will resume on 31st January now that the Kalinga Super Cup has concluded, and will run until March 14 – including the playoffs.
The match against Afghanistan will take place on March 21, only one week after the ISL season ends. And in spite of calling for longer national team camps over the past year, the head coach is unlikely to have his demands met even ahead of the all-important qualifiers.
Indian national team unlikely to have more than a week of preparation under Igor Stimac
The league stage of the ISL will conclude a little earlier, which will allow players from teams who haven’t made the playoffs to arrive earlier. But with six teams set to contest the end of season mini-tournament, it will be difficult to have everyone in time for the Indian national team camp.
Igor Stimac recently received a lot of criticism for the team’s performance at the AFC Asian Cup 2023. India couldn’t score a single goal, or earn a point, and crashed out of the group stage with three straight defeats against Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria.
Failure to deliver in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers could add even more pressure to the situation, unless he can work a strategy out with the AIFF.
