India played their last competitive match of the year on Tuesday.

The 3-0 defeat against Qatar in the 2026 World Cup Qualifier at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, however, gave an idea to national coach Igor Stimac on certain players and the Croat said that between now and the AFC Asian Cup — which starts in Doha on January 12, 2024 — they would have to keep on performing for their respective clubs.

“I have a clear picture now,” Stimac said at the post-match news conference on Tuesday night.

Stimac heaped praise on the likes of defenders Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, midfielders Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte, Suresh Singh Wangjam but had some harsh words about winger Udanta Singh. “Apuia confirmed his position. Suresh confirmed his position,” he said.

Subhasish, who plays for Mohun Bagan Super Giant, was impressive against Qatar and Stimac had some good words about him.

“Today (Tuesday) was a great opportunity to give Subhasish a chance to confirm his position for the Asian Cup and he did it. And Bheke was brilliant in both these qualifiers (against Kuwait and Qatar).”

FC Goa’s Udanta, however, drew flak from Stimac. “Udanta will need to go back to his club and prove to everyone in the country that he deserves the national team shirt again.”

India (102 in Fifa rankings) are clubbed with Australia (27), Uzbekistan (73) and Syria (92) in the Asian Cup.

Stimac wanted a four-week camp before the tournament but would get 14 days to prepare.

“We did not get what we wanted. Without the time, do not ask about results,” he said.

“The most important thing is the World Cup qualifiers. If we do well in the qualifiers and advance to the third round, then we will get five-six home games. That will be a huge boost for Indian football.”

There is bad news for Mohun Bagan though. Manvir Singh, who suffered a muscle strain after the Kuwait match, will be out for 10-14 days. Bagan host Odisha FC on November 27 in a crucial AFC Cup match.

Wenger: Must club the best together

Mumbai: Arsene Wenger on Wednesday said the AIFF-Fifa academy in Bhubaneswar will help Indian football achieve its goals in the coming years.

The first-ever AIFF-Fifa Talent Academy was launched on Tuesday by Odisha chief minister Naveen Pattnaik and Wenger. The first batch will comprise of 50 players from across the country.

Wenger, Fifa’s Chief of Global Football Development, once again underlined the importance of football education to spread the game in India, while adding that differences between quality of education is what separates the country from powerhouses in the sport.

Wenger said only by imparting high quality of football education India will be able to bridge the gap with countries who have a rich football culture.

The former Arsenal coach said “better identification of talent” is the need of the hour for India.

“The second important part is we are convinced that you have to put the best with the best together. When you play against good players, that’s a stimulation. We want to identify the talent, we want to, of course, put the best against the best,” he said.

PTI