KUALA LUMPUR – India football head coach Igor Štimac points to Malaysia’s advantage of having more heritage and naturalised players as the main reason for his team’s defeat in the opening fixture of the Merdeka Tournament at Bukit Jalil National Stadium last night.
The 56-year-old Croatian expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the tournament is being handled and hopes to see changes from the organisers before future editions of the tournament.
“The Malaysian team has so many naturalised and heritage players, and I believe that’s the reason behind our defeat today (last night).
“We played better football even though we didn’t have enough time to train for this tournament, and I’m really proud of my players’ hard work and dedication.
“I’m also frustrated that we had to wait for nearly an hour and a half for our team bus to arrive before we headed to our training yesterday.
“Matters like this should be taken into consideration, and I hope the organisers rectify these issues before organising future tournaments,” Štimac said during a post-match conference interview.
Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan-gon countered his opponent’s statement by saying that his team has not done anything wrong by fielding naturalised and heritage players.
“We have not done anything wrong, and we didn’t go against any regulations. Our players were selected on merit, and they all have the passion to play for the badge.
“I have no idea why Štimac has to be jealous of us. If he wants, he can also suggest to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to follow the same strategy as us,” said Pan-gon.
Harimau Malaya began the Merdeka Tournament in style by defeating 102nd-ranked India 4-2 in front of 46,150 fans.
Malaysia scored four goals through Dion Cools (7th minute), Arif Aiman (20th minute), Faisal Halim (42nd minute), and Corbin Ong (61st minute).
India’s goals came from Mahesh Singh (13th minute) and Sunil Chhetri (61st minute).
Dion Cools, who earned his 18th cap for Malaysia today, was named the Man of the Match.
Malaysia is set to face Tajikistan in the final match of the 42nd edition of the Merdeka Tournament on October 17, 2023. – October 14, 2023