AFC Asian Cup 2023: Igor Stimac believes vocal fans 'crucial' for India vs Uzbekistan

India men’s football team coach Igor Stimac says large population of Indians living in Qatar will be crucial for his side when they take on Uzbekistan in the AFC Asian Cup on Thursday. Stimac urged the vocal fans to spur the team on and be the difference when the two sides meet at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan. For India’s opener against Australia, where the Blue Tigers lost 0-2, there was a crowd of 36,000 in Doha, most of them Indians. Igor Stimac expects a bigger turnout for the match against Uzbekistan. “We are expecting a huge number, an even bigger number now in this match,” Stimac, a former international defender for Croatia, said on Wednesday. An estimated 750,000 Indians live in Qatar, which has a population of nearly three million. The fixture against Australia kicked off in the early afternoon but it will be a later start time of 5:30 pm (1430 GMT/8 PM IST) against Uzbekistan. Stimac, part of the Croatia side that reached the 1998 World Cup semi-finals, believes that will mean even more fans in attendance. “It’s a much better kickoff time, much more convenient for them to attend,” said the 56-year-old. “They might be the crucial point for us in this game, and once again, a huge, huge thanks to all of them.” Uzbekistan, ranked 68th in the world to India’s 102nd, began their Asian Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw against Syria.