Indian men's football team head coach, Igor Stimac said that he is quite attached to the U-23 squad of India as it's much easier to work with them.
The India U23 squad departed for Dubai on Wednesday morning to take part in the forthcoming qualifiers for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. The 23-member squad, plus the support staff flew from Bengaluru, where the U-23 boys had practised for the last couple of days.
India, who has been clubbed in Group E along with Oman, UAE and the Kyrgyz Republic, begin their campaign against Oman in their first match on October 24.
"Every country has talented youngsters, and U-23 players who are already playing at the senior level for their respective countries, and so do we. But we need to find the balance in this team," Head Coach Igor Stimac stated in an official AIFF release.
"The good thing for us is that we already had a number of players from this bunch of players here who have been a part of the National Team, and are aware of what kind of weather is to be expected, and also the expectations from the fans," he added.
From the current contingent, Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Rahim Ali, and Dheeraj Singh were part of the triumphant SAFF Championship squad, while Akash Mishra, Amarjit Singh, and Narender Gahlot have been part of the Blue Tigers under Stimac in the past.
"I'm quite attached to these guys. They are the players who are giving us extra energy on the bench. They are younger and it's much easier to work with them. You need to understand as they are young, we can mould them as they learn fast," the coach expressed.
( With inputs from ANI )
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