Igor Stimac  

Defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Anwar Ali (Jr) were ruled out the match to be played at VYBK Stadium due to injuries, while Halicharan Narzary, Farukh Choudhary and Nishu Kumar did not make it to the final 23 and were released from the national camp in Guwahati

'I can say we are very happy to go back to Kolkata. It is the 'Mecca of Indian football.' I can see the excitement amongst the players about playing in Kolkata. I have been told that ticket sales are going at a great rate, and there might be 60-65 thousand people on (October) 15th,' said Igor Stimac ahead of India's World Cup 2022 qualifier against Bangladesh

The Indian football team will practice in Guwahati till October 12 and will arrive in Kolkata the following day for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier against Bangladesh. Head coach Igor Stimac said many people already feel that this India team is at the “beginning of a new and very successful era”

'It is difficult to swallow. I think we didn't keep the ball in the second half. It's not easy if we keep giving the ball to a team like Oman. That's something we need to work on. The boys fought really well,' Sunil Chhetri said after India lost to Oman in FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier

A member of the Croatian team that reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup, Igor Stimac is undoubtedly one of the most high-profile names to have managed India, but the start hasn't been impressive

'Realistically, Qatar and Oman are the favourites in our group. We have never won an official match against either of them. So it's not going to be easy at all. In Guwahati we are going to give everything on the pitch, aiming to win it,' India coach Igor Stimac said

In his first press conference after taking over as the national coach, 51-year-old Igor Stimac said in New Delhi that Chhetri is “very valuable” for the team but added that past laurels will not count when picking him