<p>Former <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/world-cup-qualifiers-stimac-ouster-cry-grows-after-shock-india-defeat-to-afghanistan-23341823" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>India</strong></a> footballers are upset with head coach Igor Stimac following the national team&rsquo;s shocking defeat to Afghanistan in the World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/chhetri-i-wasnt-captain-cool-then-23341591" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>Sunil Chhetri</strong></a> struck in his landmark 150th international before 117th-ranked India went down 1-2 to World No. 158 Afghanistan in Guwahati on Tuesday.</p>
<p>&ldquo;These are the same players who were praised for their historic draw against Qatar [in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers]. Last year, they won three tournaments, including the SAFF Championships. So what happened suddenly?&rdquo; asked former India defender Gourmangi Singh.</p>
<p><strong>Also Read: </strong><strong><a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/pcb-looking-to-bring-babar-azam-back-as-pakistan-captain-23341857" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">PCB looking to bring Babar Azam back as Pakistan captain</a></strong></p>
<h2>AIFF under the scanner</h2>
<p>The All India Football Federation &nbsp;(AIFF) under Kalyan Chaubey made headlines for the wrong reasons following the sacking of its secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran for &ldquo;breach of trust&rdquo; in November last year.&nbsp;</p>
<p>India thereafter struggled to form a team for the Hangzhou Asian Games and reached just hours before the event. Then, at the Asian Cup early this year, India failed to score a single goal in three matches. &ldquo;AIFF&rsquo;s recent incidents may have had an impact on the field too. It&rsquo;s like if your parents are quarrelling, the effect will be seen on their kids,&rdquo; said FC Goa assistant coach Gourmangi.</p>
<h2>&lsquo;Flawed selection policy&rsquo;</h2>
<p>Former attacking midfielder Dipendu Biswas, currently the football secretary of Mohammedan Sporting, criticised Stimac for his over-reliance on Chhetri. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s depressing that players who have performed well in Durand Cup, Kolkata League or I-League don&rsquo;t attract any attention. We keep saying why we don&rsquo;t have another Chhetri, but if we don&rsquo;t give chances to performing players, how will new talent emerge?&rdquo; questioned Biswas citing the example of Manipuri forward David Lalhlansanga, who has scored 30-plus goals for Mohammedan Sporting this season: &ldquo;Nobody knows David, thanks to Stimac&rsquo;s flawed selection policies. The likes of PK Banerjee, Nayeemuddin too were sacked after poor results then why not Stimac?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Former India defender Subrata Bhattacharya said: &ldquo;Foreign coaches never brought laurels to the Indian team. It&rsquo;s coaches like Amal Dutta and PK Banerjee who took India to greater heights.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>We should&rsquo;ve won first leg too: Afghan coach Westwood</h2>
<p>Chuffed after his rag-tag team shocked India in their own backyard in a World Cup qualifying match here, Afghanistan football coach Ashley Westwood asserted that the visiting side was &ldquo;always the dominant&rdquo; one and should have won even the first leg game which ended in a draw.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We remained confident even when we were trailing. To be honest, we also could have won the earlier match. We were always the dominant side in the match,&rdquo; Westwood said referring to the first leg clash in Saudi Arabia that ended in a goalless draw.&nbsp;</p>
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Former India players hold head coach responsible for shocking 1-2 defeat to World No. 158 Afghanistan in World Cup Qualifier

‘Sack Stimac’

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