Welcome to ESPN India Edition
The All India Football Federation today announced that it has sacked Igor Stimac, ending his five-year reign as head coach of the senior men’s national team.
The decision was taken today at a meeting chaired by AIFF Vice President NA Haris. “Noting the disappointing outcome of the Senior Men’s National Team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign, the members unanimously agreed that a new Head Coach would be best placed to take the team forward,” the AIFF statement read.
“A notice of termination has been issued to Mr. Stimac by the AIFF Secretariat, and he stands relieved of his obligations with immediate effect. The AIFF thanks Mr. Stimac for his service to the National Team and wishes him well in his future endeavours.”
Stimac’s job has been under threat for much of this year, especially after a disappointing AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, when India lost three matches, conceded six goals and scored none. There was hope after the Asian Cup that Stimac would be able to turn results around and guide India through to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but they only managed two points from four qualifiers in 2024, scoring only two goals in those four games.
A draw and a loss to Afghanistan, a home draw against Kuwait, and then a loss against Qatar’s second string meant India exited the World Cup qualifiers, and even though Stimac was bullish about not quitting, that decision was taken out of his hands.
Stimac led India in 53 matches during his tenure, which began with a 3-1 loss to Curacao in 2019. India eventually won 19 of those 53 matches, drawing 14 and losing 20.
With the national team in transition now following the retirement of the talismanic Sunil Chhetri, the new head coach will primarily be tasked with making the team a consistent threat in front of goal, with the team managing only 3 goals in the last 810 competitive minutes of football under Stimac.
With the next window for international matches not until September, the AIFF is expected to announce the new head coach by the time India play their next match.
