Stimac served his one-match suspension in the last game against Nepal, where the Blue Tigers made sure not to feel his absence and ran out 2-0 winners.
India defeated Nepal 2-0 in the SAFF Championship 2023 on Saturday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. After securing the win against Nepal the Indian football team confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the tournament
Sunil Chhetri netted an early brace before adding another after the break for his fourth international hat-trick, thereby taking his tally to 90 goals and leaving Mokhtar Dahari of Malaysia behind who has 89 international goals to his name.
After the Indian football team sealed the Intercontinental Cup 2023, they have decided to donate a part of the cash award towards "relief and rehabilitation" to the families affected by the triple train tragedy in Balasore.
Captain Sunil Chhetri and winger Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the two goals that led to India lifting the Intercontinental Cup. India have played six matches so far in 2023 and kept clean sheets in all of them.
In what was the first-ever tournament for the Blue Tigers in the Odisha capital, the fans were treated to a fantastic spectacle over the course of four matches, where India did not concede any goals en route to reclaiming the title they last won in 2018.
India finished top of the standings at the end of the group stage with seven points and no goals conceded, registering wins over Mongolia (2-0) and Vanuatu (1-0), and a draw with Lebanon (0-0). The Cedars were also held goalless by Mongolia after beating Vanuatu 3-1 in their opening game.
Both sides had already booked their place in the final ahead of Thursday's game after Vanuatu recorded a narrow win against Mongolia in their last group game
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met the Indian team as well as the Mongolia players during the line-up and conveyed his best wishes in India's campaign opener in the Intercontinental Cup 2023 kicked off at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
The India Senior Men's Team will begin their Intercontinental Cup 2023 campaign with a first-ever meeting against Mongolia on Friday at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.