Final Line Will Be Drawn By Players' Strength Of Character: Igor Stimac On Asian Cup Squad

Lined up to face strong sides like Australia and Uzbekistan in the AFC Asian Cup football in Doha next month, India head coach Igor Stimac on Friday said "strength of character" will be the parameter to decide who will be included in the final squad. India are clubbed with formidable Australia, strong central Asian side Uzbekistan and tricky Syria -- all above Stimac's team in the FIFA rankings -- in the group stage of the Asian Cup from January 13 onwards. "All the boys in the (probable) list are similar in their football qualities. What we are looking for the final list of 26 is definitely experience, physical strength, and the final line will be drawn by the strength of their character," Stimac said on the All India Football Federation's social media handles.

"This is very important for us as a team, because no matter the talent, if there is no character nothing can be achieved," he added.

Stimac will announce his final 26 players before the team's departure on Saturday.

Regarding areas which the team needs improvement, he said, "I am looking for defensive compactness, offensive transition, and the set pieces mostly.

"It's also very important to work on man marking inside the box, because I was not happy with that part of our game, in the last few games. We started leaking some unnecessary goals inside the box because marking was not properly done." India will face Australia on January 13, before playing against Uzbekistan (January 18) and Syria (January 23).

"All three opponents are technically good, physically strong, with great speed. So, we are not going to have much difference in approach of all these three games.

"The main focus for us will be to check the fitness level of our players at present and see how much