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All India Football Federation (AIFF) acting secretary general M Satanarayan said on Friday that the new coach of the Indian national men's football team will be announced really soon, with the technical committee of the federation set to meet in two days on the matter.
Igor Stimac, a former Croatian footballer, was sacked as the India men's football team head coach earlier in June after the team's poor performance in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign. Senior officials of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) held a virtual meeting and decided to terminate Stimac's services as the head coach. Speaking about the process of appointing a new coach, Satanarayan said, "Maximum by a week (new coach announcement). We have received a lot of applicants and have shortlisted around 20-25. We have to see if they are available. Then, we will open up the talks. The committee in two days will meet to decide what kind of coach they want." He also said that the Indian Super League (ISL), the top-tier football league in the nation, has worked as a fine advertisment for Indian football. "A lot of big coaches are coming here. The boys have done really well," he added. India's run in the qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 ended on a controversial note after Qatar clinched a 2-1 win in the World Cup Qualifier Second Round Group A clash at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha. India led the game until the 72nd minute of the game but Qatar levelled the game following a controversial equaliser. Yousef Aymen found the back of the net after the ball had gone out of play. They scored another goal in the final minutes of the game to clinch a 2-1 victory and end Igor Stimac's side's run in the qualification race. Qatar held onto their lead and ended India's hopes of making it into the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier. India slid down to number three position in Group A with five points in six games, having won only one game. Qatar (16 points) and Kuwait (7 points) are in the top two spots. Stimac took over as India's coach in 2019 and led them to two SAFF Championship titles in 2021 and 2023, one Tri-Nation series title last year and one Intercontinental Cup title win last year. (ANI)
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