Sinclair brought in to improve India’s set-piece woes

DOHA: The Indian football team is entering the upcoming Asian Cup as “ranked outsiders” and its main goal is to go through to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, head coach Igor Stimac said on Sunday.

Stimac was making his assessment based on the level of competition they are expected to face in a tough group comprising continental heavyweights Australia and the physically intimidating Uzbekistan.

India is drawn in Group B with World Cup regulars Australia, strong central Asian side Uzbekistan and tricky Syria, all above Stimac’s team in the FIFA rankings at the group stage of the Asian Cup.

“Obviously, we are rank outsiders in our group. Uzbekistan is one of the dark horses and a fantastic team, their players’ physicality could cause problems.

“Australia are playing at the highest level of football and we all know what they are capable to do. They are regular at World Cups and will mostly clear the group stage there,” Stimac said.

India landed in Qatar’s capital on Saturday for the tournament. While this will be India’s fifth appearance in the AFC Asian Cup, the Blue Tigers have never made it past the group stage after finishing runners-up in 1964, which was played in a round-robin format.

India will begin its campaign against Australia on January 13 followed by matches against Uzbekistan and Syria.

The team will play a warm-up game on January 7 to see where it stands in terms of preparation before the big test.

“Keeping in mind that all the other teams are in Dubai for three weeks already, we are trying to settle down to the climatic conditions and adjust in a proper way in the short time given to us,” added Stimac.

Stimac also spoke about the importance of doing well from set pieces, for which the team has hired the services of former West Ham and Manchester City player Trevor Sinclair.

“Trevor Sinclair has been brought in to help the team in set pieces. First, we have to work on how to stop conceding goals from set pieces, and then look to score from set pieces.

Stimac also said his goalkeepers must remain confident of coming out if the need arises.

“We are going to need our keepers to be at their best and also work on their self-confidence. They need to be brave.”