Coach Igor Stimac has insisted that the wholesome changes in Indian football team's starting XI, in its last two league matches of the Intercontinental Cup, was a display of his "rich" resources and nothing else. (More Football News)
After the first match against Mongolia, Stimac made nine changes to the line-up to face Vanuatu. As many as 10 more changes followed against Lebanon in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Sandesh Jhingan was the only constant in all three games.
India will play against Lebanon in the title clash on Sunday.
Summing up the reasoning behind such heavy rotation, Stimac said, "It's not about experimenting or not finding the right first eleven. We are rich with wonderful players, and I need to keep using them.
"Today (against Lebanon on Thursday), we looked like a very organised, compact and disciplined side with a clear idea of what needs to be done. And that's richness when you've got so many good players to choose from."
Stimac showered praise on his rock-solid backline, which has now racked up six straight clean sheets at home.
"You can see the discipline in our defending, never mind the opponent. Each one of my players did the job at the back. We knew our defensive abilities would be tested, and that's what happened, but we did well. Lebanon had only one clear chance.
"Mongolia and Vanuatu had none and didn't even come near the goal. That's what we're building upon - keeping clean sheets," said the Croatian.
The decision to rest Sunil Chhetri meant that Ashique Kuruniyan had to be deployed at the centre-forward position and he managed to impress Stimac. And so did Udanta Singh, who was shifted to the left wing.
"All of my boys can play in every position, whether it's left wing, right wing, number 10 or centre forward. That's because they communicate well and understand each other," Stimac said.
"Ashique was fantastic today. He disturbed their build-up so much that they didn't know where to pass the ball to."
The 1998 World Cup semifinalist added, "We were balanced on the wings and created equal chances from both sides. Chhangte cut inside many times. He was phenomenal - controlling the ball, turning players and creating chances.
"We were insisting on Udanta making more runs in behind. Their full-backs were fearful of both our wingers. And that's what we want to happen so that they think more about defending and not come forward."
The Blue Tigers shifted gears as the match entered the final quarter and looked the likelier of the two sides to find the winning goal. Stimac also spoke about the improvements he would like to see from the team.
"We could feel the goal coming in the last 20 minutes, but it didn't happen. We got into good positions to deliver crosses, but we couldn't. We need to stop running in a straight line to the corner of the pitch, as crosses from there are easy to defend. That's one of our problems.
"We need to keep working on that and also on our finishing. During training, if my lads miss the goal, they need to run a lap. With just the goalkeeper to beat, no defenders. And many of them run," said Stimac.
