Buriram: India head coach Igor Stimac attributed Saturday's 1-0 win over Thailand in the King's Cup third-place playoff to his defenders.
Admitting that the tie could have gone either way, Stimac said India's first victory under his reign was due to excellent defending by the South Asians.
“Today's result was a result of excellent defending. That was fantastic.
“I was a defender playing at the top level. I can show a few things to the boys, and that’s what we have been doing in the last two weeks - explaining things to the players, and working on the pitch," said the Croatian, who assumed his post in May.
India faced Thailand in the playoff after losing 3-1 to Curacao, who eventually edged Vietnam on penalties to lift the title, in the semi-finals.
Thailand turned on the pressure after India took the lead through Anirudh Thapa's goal in the 17th minute.
The hosts, however, couldn't find the breakthrough they needed and Stimac attributed this to tactical changes he made after India took the lead.
“I changed a few things after we scored the goal. I have many inexperienced players who can lose their head during the game. I wanted to let them play freely at the back to pass, move and concentrate to close in the middle.
“If we want to keep the ball and pass it around, we could do that against better sides likes Curacao. We kept the possession, pushed them back inside their box and created chances in the second half."
Really proud of these men who pulled on the India shirt and got on to the pitch for the first time ever. Don't stop at this. Fantastic result for the team today. Feet back on the ground and more hard work. pic.twitter.com/HTD2EHemdL
— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) June 8, 2019
Overall, Stimac said he was satisfied with how India's campaign had gone as they work towards the second round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 Joint Qualification which kicks off in September.
“I would like to thank all my players and staff for helping fulfil what we wanted to do in the last two weeks. Congratulations to everyone in AIFF too. I'm particularly happy because the people in India supported us after we lost the first game. I'm proud of the players. There are so many young players in the team,” he said.
Photos: All India Football Federation
Source: the-afc.com