Indian Coach Engages in Mind Games With Pakistan Ahead of SAFF Championship

Indian football team’s Croatian coach, Igor Stimac has engaged in mind games ahead of the blockbuster clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India in the upcoming SAFF Championship 2023.

Stimac, during a press conference on the eve of the tournament, labeled the Pakistan national side as the surprise package of the tournament and warned his team to be wary of the Men in Green and not take them lightly.

You can watch Pakistan vs India live streaming here.

The former Croatian international stated that the Pakistan national team showed glimpses of their class in the recently concluded 4-nation tournament in Africa, despite losing all three matches in the competition. He said that the Green Shirts were much better than Kenya, a side almost 100 positions higher in the ranking, and should have come away with the victory.

He further stated that rankings should not matter and warned his side of the potential of Pakistan.

Forget the rankings. I watch Pakistan’s match against Kenya, and Pakistan was better than Kenya away from home. They created better chances, they were more aggressive, and obviously, they are defending deeper, but from deeper positions, they come straight forward with the quality. They have six, seven players which are developed abroad. Two players play in England, one in Denmark in the first tier. So let’s not mislead the public please. Let’s not speak about rankings. We have very serious group here, very serious competition.

On paper, India are clear favorites to win the match and Stimac’s comments seem to be made in order to downplay the expectations of Indian fans rather than appreciating the standard of Pakistani football.

You can check out everything you need to know about the SAFF Championship 2023 here.

The two teams will go head-to-head in a blockbuster clash in Bengaluru on 21 June at 7:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time.

Check out the analysis of Pakistan’s chances in the SAFF Championship: