Igor Stimac’s five-year reign as head coach of the Indian national football team came to an end on Monday after the All-India Football Federation decided to terminate the Croatian’s contract after a disappointing AFC Asian Cup campaign was followed by a failed attempt to take India to the third round of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers. During his tenure India’s FIFA ranking went from 101 after the AFC Asian Cup in 2019, to 99 in 2023, to now 121. “A notice of termination has been issued to Mr.
Stimac by the AIFF Secretariat, and he stands relieved of his obligations with immediate effect. The AIFF thanks Mr. Stimac for his service to the National Team and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” said a statement on the AIFF website.
Under the mercurial 56-year-old, India played 53 games out of which the country lost 20, won 19 and drew 14, with 71 goals scored and 76 conceded for a 35.8%-win record. Despite many of the failings of the national team during this five-year period, what eventually broke the camel’s back was the inability to reach the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
Advertisement When the draw for the 2023 Asian Cup and the WCQs were announced, the consensus was that while India had a tough group for the continental competition, their World Cup qualifier games were as much of a walk in the park as one could hope. A win against Kuwait on the road further raised hope but then that result was followed by two shocking games against Afghanista.
