India 'still alive' in SAFF Championship, says coach Igor Stimac as Blue Tigers face Nepal in must-win match

Igor Stimac, the head coach of the Indian football team, stated the Blue Tigers are "still alive" in the ongoing SAFF Championship before their match against Nepal.

There isn't much of a choice, though, because there are only two games left in the group stage, both of which must be won if India is to go to the final.

"Nothing much has changed. We are here, and we are still alive in the Championship. We are still here to win the tournament," AIFF quoted Stimac as saying.

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The two sides had previously played two back-to-back International Friendlies in Kathmandu in the first week of September, with India winning the second match 2-1 after drawing the first.

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"We know them very well and have played twice against them. It's an open game and if we play well, and do it right on the pitch, I am sure that we can win the game. There is no other option for us than to go out there and win it," Stimac said.

Nepal now leads the points table with six points after winning both of their matches against the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

"They may have a different approach. They may calculate while playing against us. But we are not worried about them. We will go out to do our job from the first minute itself," the coach added.

The Blue Tigers held their first practice session on Saturday morning, and all 23 players are eligible for selection, according to the news from the camp.

Brandon Fernandes, a midfielder, stated that the squad had "everything to play for."

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Brandon stated at the formal pre-match news conference:"We have had two disappointing results so far. Understandably, the mood was dull in the camp. But tomorrow we have everything to fight for. We are positive, and have prepared well for this game. Everyone is focused in winning the match."

Stimac had similar sentiments, citing a lack of discipline on the field.

"We haven`t been disciplined enough on the pitch. For all those simple mistakes, we are currently on two points whereas we should have been on 6 points now," he opined.

"We know it will not be easy against Nepal. But we could win against them in Kathmandu, we can do it here too. But I reiterate that for that to happen we need to be committed and disciplined," he added.

Nepal and India will face each other on Sunday.