Igor Stimac, head coach of the senior men’s national team, believes that playing the two games of the Tri-nation international football tournament in Manipur will be a happy occasion for the Blue Tigers. Prior to playing Kyrgyz Republic on March 28, India will play Myanmar in the tournament’s opening match on Wednesday.
The head coach of India also thinks that taking part in such games will make people aware of how widespread football is in the region and encourage the growth of the infrastructure.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, an Indian goalkeeper, joined the team after competing in the Indian Super League championship game, which his team Bengaluru FC lost to ATK Mohun Bagan on penalties. The Blue Tigers goalkeeper, though, doesn’t feel demotivated. Yet based on prior results, Myanmar (formerly Burma) has a minor advantage over the host team. India, which is ranked 106th in the FIFA Rankings, has faced Burma 24 times (159 on FIFA Rankings)
Four of these games were in draws. Of these, the Blue Tigers won nine matches and Myanmar won 11.
