India had to face defeat against Iraq in the semi-final of the 2023 King’s Cup on Thursday. The Blue Tigers took the lead twice in the game only to see Iraq come back both times. Eventually, the Lions of Mesopotamia won the match on penalties.
Igor Stimac’s men had a brilliant start as Sahal Abdul Samand and Naorem Mahesh Singh combined to put India ahead as the latter scored the goal. However, Iraq came back in the game courtesy of a penalty which resulted from Sandesh Jhingan’s handball in the penalty area. Ali Ali-Hammadi made no mistake from the spot to make it 1-1.
In the second half, India got the lead again when Iraqi goalkeeper Jala Hussein made a blunder and India went 2-1 up. But once again the Blue Tigers failed to hold on to their lead as the referee awarded Iraq another penalty courtesy of a tussle between Aymen Hussein, Jhingan and Nikhil Poojari. It was a controversial call as the replays showed there was minimal contact.
Igor Stimac was not happy with the decision and in his interaction with RevSport, he made it clear that his boys were robbed on the night. “I didn’t even want to go to the press conference because in the state I’m at the moment after being robbed in such a way, I didn’t want to go there and say the truth. Saying the truth, it’s a very hard thing to do here,” Stimac said.
“FIFA is promoting fair play and humbleness, and the officials are the first one who needs to behave in such a way. The worst thing for a referee to do is to give something that never happened and to give something he couldn’t see,” he continued.
However, the Croatian tactician was proud of his players as they held their own against a team that was higher ranked and also had most players playing in European clubs. “I told the players to be proud of themselves because they gave everything on the pitch. We were twice in the lead. Let’s be honest, they were the better side and played good football because they are technically better.”
Stimac firmly believes that they deserved the victory as he highlighted that India had created more chances. “Of course, it’s difficult to play, but not impossible. But we deserved to win. Yes, they had more possession and more passes, but we created better chances.”
This interaction comes right after the AIFF issued a show cause notice to the Indian coach for his aggressive comments on media and showing the federation in bad light. However one cannot disagree that the Indian football team has grown in statute under the Croatian’s leadership.
The Blue Tigers will face Lebanon in the third-place match after they lost their semi-final against hosts Thailand. The third-place match is scheduled on September 10.
