Ahead of the Asian Games, Igor Stimac is certain that India can overcome a “big problem”

The highly anticipated Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China, and Igor Stimac, the coach of India’s senior men’s team, said that he had to alter the squad list many times after releasing it owing to a player shortage that also affected other countries.

Clubs are not required to release their players since the multi-sport tournament falls outside of FIFA’s international calendar, and countries like Afghanistan and Syria have already withdrawn from the Asian Games before they even started.

Igor Stimac, the head coach of India’s football team, has had to alter his roster seven times since making the first announcement for the Hangzhou Asian Games. Other countries have also had trouble finding players.

Afghanistan and Syria withdrew before the Games even began since the multi-sport tournament is outside of FIFA’s international window and clubs are not required to release players.

As the only two teams in Group C still standing, Hong Kong and Uzbekistan automatically advanced to the next round.

Former Croatian international defender Stimac, who played for Derby County and West Ham, called it a “big problem”.

He said, “Twenty-one out of 22 players from my (initial) list are not here today,” after they lost their first game 5-1 against China.

Despite some players arriving for the game only before kickoff, they came back to defeat Bangladesh 1-0 and maintain their chances of moving on to the knockout stages.

Stimac, who was a member of the Croatian team that came third at the 1998 World Cup, noted that this group was his eighth that had been altered and prepared to send a team over here.

Considering that (Indian) clubs are not under any pressure to release their players, I am completely aware of how tough that is.

“But I’m happy because I see that some teams withdrew last-minute due to a lack of players, like Afghanistan and Syria, and it’s a major issue for the entire tournament now,” said the athlete.

Sandesh Jhingan, an Indian defender, said, “We have played two games but we haven’t practiced on the field as a team yet.”

Stimac advised his squad to maintain their “chins up” despite the delayed planning.

“Once we have a full squad together, we’re going to cause problems for anyone in Asia,” said the group. Trust me,” he said.

against Sunday, they take against Myanmar.