PETALING JAYA: India will not press the panic button if they do not reach the final of the Merdeka Tournament. After all, their main objective is the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
But it will not stop them from giving that extra effort when they take on Harimau Malaya in the opening game at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
The winner of the game will take on Tajikistan, who received a bye after Palestine pulled out of the tournament last minute.
The Blue Tigers’ coach Igor Stimac just does not want any of his players’ to get injured.
“We know the importance of this Merdeka Tournament and we want to go all the way to the final but the top priority is to keep our players injury-free,” said the former Croatian international, who took over the Indian coaching reins in 2019.
“But if we fail to reach the final, we will not be too sad. We have more important things coming up, especially the World Cup qualifiers. We want to get to the third round of the qualifiers.
“We only had two training sessions before coming to Malaysia but we have a stable team. I just want them to leave everything on the field.
India have participated in the Merdeka Tournament 17 times, reaching two finals, losing both in 1959 against Malaysia and 1964 against Burma (Myanmar).
India are the best in South Asia, ranked 102 in the world and one of the legends in his own right, Sunil Chhetri has scored 92 international goals from 142 matches. Despite being 39, he remains a key part of the Indian team.
Said Stimac: “He is our diamond. He is everything that this team need to be successful. At his age, he looks like a youngster.”
“He is the first one to do high pressing. He is always supportive and positive whenever the chips are down. He is a player every coach needs in his team.”
Meanwhile, Stimac said Malaysia have improved because of the inclusion of naturalised and heritage-based players had raised their standard.
“I’m somewhat jealous with what your association have done. They are using all the tools available to improve the team. The foreign-born players in the team have been developed at proper football academies with great basic skills.
“The homegrown players are also technically good, fast as well.
“In 2023, Malaysia played nine games and only suffered one defeat against Thailand in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup. They have won all six games at home, recently played good football higher-ranked nations like Syria and China.”
