Igor Stimac, sacked after India failed to reach the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers spoke in his farewell press conference on Friday (June 21). The Croatian coach revealed that he had heart surgery while in charge of the Indian side, highlighting the stress level during his stint.
Sacked Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac has made a massive revelation on his health after he parted ways with the national side earlier in the week. Stimac, sacked after India failed to reach the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers spoke in his farewell press conference on Friday (June 21). The Croatian coach revealed that he had heart surgery while in charge of the Indian side, highlighting the stress level during his stint.
“After I told them that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important than the Asian Cup. I received a final warning from AIFP. When I received the final warning on December 2. no one knows this, I finished in the hospital. I was disturbed by everything going on; stressed by the obvious problems. I had an immediate surgery on my heart. I wasn’t ready to speak to anyone or find excuses. I was ready to put myself on the line to prepare my team for the Asian Cup to give the best shot,” Igor Stimac said in the press conference.
The 56-year-old was sacked after five years with the Indian football team having failed to take them into the next round of the World Cup qualifiers. India finished third in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group after a controversial defeat to Qatar last week. However, it was India’s defeat to Afghanistan in March that proved to be the last straw the Blue Tigers missed out on qualification.
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During his five-year spell with India, Stimac did a decent job by getting India into the top 100 of FIFA men’s rankings. He also helped India win the SAFF Championship in 2023 in Bengaluru. However, despite extra sports for Asia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers India failed to make it to the later stages of the qualification.
At the time of his sacking India were 124th in FIFA rankings while they ranked 22nd in Asia, highlighting Stimac’s inability to progress on the pitch despite spending five years at the helm.

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