"Goal Is To Enter Third Round Of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers": India Coach Igor Stimac

The Indian football team is entering the upcoming Asian Cup as " rank outsiders" and its main goal is to go through to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, head coach Igor Stimac said on Sunday. Stimac was making his assessment based on the level of competition they are expected to face in a tough group comprising continental heavyweights Australia and the physically intimidating Uzbekistan. India are drawn in Group B with World Cup regulars 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.

"Obviously, we are rank outsiders in our group. Uzbekistan is one of the dark horses and a fantastic team, their players' physicality could cause problems.

"Australia are playing at the highest level of football and we all know what they are capable of... they are regular at World Cups and will mostly clear the group stage there," Stimac said.

India landed in Qatar's capital on Saturday for the tournament.

And how does he plan to approach the matches? "This group is much stronger than the last Asian Cup. The most important thing for us is to have a good performance and ensure that we remain stable and in shape while playing. I am not putting any pressure on players about results.

"We need to find stability, we will try to play fearless football notwithstanding the teams we play against. I don't mind the final results. Our final goal is to qualify for the third round of World Cup qualifiers." While this will be India's fifth appearance in the AFC Asian Cup, the Blue Tigers have never made it past the group stage after finishing runners-up in 1964, which was played in a round-robin format.

India will begin their campaign