India’s disappointing defeat against Afghanistan
Indian football fans were left in despair after Afghanistan defeated India, during the third round of Preliminary Joint Qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 on Tuesday, March 26.
The 2-1 loss has reflected significantly in India’s FIFA ranking, with the ream dropping to 122nd position from its prior ranking of 117th.
Fans presented at the stands of Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati were ecstatic, when team captain Sunil Chhetri scored a much-needed goal off of a penalty kick during the 37th minute of the match.
Their happiness was short-lived as during the 70th minute, Mid-fielder Rahmat Akbari went on counter-offensive and managed to get a shot past Indian goal-keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, thus tying the scores. Further hopes for a comeback were crushed when Sharif Mukhammad shot the scoring goal during the 88th minute of the match.
The defeat also dimmed India’s prospect to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026, and also subtracted 3 points from India’s table, thereby tying the score between India and Afghanistan. The unexpected defeat against inexperienced Afghani players has dealt a heavy blow on the team’s morale as well as on the fan’s, with many pointing towards Igor Stimac for the loss.
Igor Stimac’s leadership under scrutiny
The Croatian coach, Igor Stimac was appointed as the Head Coach of Indian National Football Team in 2019, and had received a contract extension last year, putting him in charge of the team till June 2026.
On the eve of the match, Stimac had issued a statement saying, “If I don’t take India to the third round, I will leave, with my pride, with my honour on everything that was done here in the five years of work. I will leave my position to someone else.”
Although the recent defeat has dampened India’s hopes of qualifying the third round of FIFA 2026, Igor has expressed his optimism about India’s ability to bounce back from this unexpected loss and into the qualifiers.
However, his optimism is not shared by Indian fans who count him as the most major contributor to India’s poor performances.
Following the match, Igor Stimac said to journalists, “I’m still confident of achieving our targets in June, not pleased with what we saw tonight. Substitutions are made to have some impacts and today there was none. I’m sorry for what happened but I expect much better in June.”
Fans Express Frustration with #StimacOut Movement
Soon after the defeat, many Indian fans took to the social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), directing their anguish and heartbreak towards Head Coach Igor Stimac, using #StimacOut in their threads. With hundreds of retweets, disheartened fan’s shared their anguish and heartbreak at India’s defeat.
A user named Akshai said, “When will AIFF open their eyes? When will they realize that Igor Stimac is not the one to take Indian football forward? #StimacOut. “
Another user named Kuram_42 said, “Igor Stimac in his interview- “We are learning from each defeat, each bad performance, only thing in my opinion that is learnt after each poor performance is to come up with new excuses. #StimacOut.”
Despite Stimac’s explanation of the loss and assurance of salvaging India’s targets, fans are yet to be on board. The loss at the Asia Cup Campaign held early this year and now another crucial loss in FIFA Qualifiers has once again raised concerns from Indian football fans’ about Stimac’s leadership capabilities.
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