India’s football head coach Igor Stimac admitted it was a great experience to play a potent Australian team in their opening Group B match at the AFC Asian Cup on Saturday. Despite a gritty first-half performance, the Blue Tigers suffered a 2-0 loss against the Socceroos.

The Croatian revealed that the team planned to keep the opposition at bay in the first hour of play and then launch their attacks. However, India conceded in the 50th minute when Jackson Irvine scored for his team.

Furthermore, Australia doubled their lead when Jordan Bos found the back of the net in the 73rd minute to put the game to bed.

Stimac said in the post-match press conference as quoted by Khel Now, “Prior to the game, it was mentioned in the dressing room that we needed to play for our people who are here.

“Look how many of them were here. We needed to hold Australia for as long as possible. Our game plan was to hold onto 60 minutes and go for a win.

“Suddenly when we were preparing for our changes which were necessary to refresh the legs, we conceded the first goal in the 51st or 52nd minute. And it’s not easy then, because you need to play another 40 minutes against a team now relaxed as they opened the score. This is a great experience for many of these boys for the future, a very valuable one.”

Meanwhile, Australia dominated the possession with 71% and took a total of 28 shots on goal whereas India could manage only four attempts on goal.

The Blue Tigers will need to register a win in their next match to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the knockout stages. India will next take on Uzbekistan at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar on Thursday in their second match of the tournament.