India is still alive in the SAFF Championship, says coach Igor Stimac

Ahead of the match against Nepal, Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac has said the Blue Tigers are "still alive" in the ongoing SAFF Championship.

There's not much of an option either - simply because there are two matches left in the group stage, and both are must-win if India is to make to the final.

"Nothing much has changed. We are here, and we are still alive in the Championship. We are still here to win the tournament," AIFF quoted Stimac as saying.

Interestingly, the two teams had played two back-to-back International Friendlies in Kathmandu in the first week of September where India had won the second match 2-1, after having drawn the first.

"We know them very well and have played twice against them. It's an open game and if we play well, and do it right on the pitch, I am sure that we can win the game. There is no other option for us than to go out there and win it," Stimac said.

Nepal are leading the points table at the moment on 6 points having won both their matches against the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

"They may have a different approach. They may calculate while playing against us. But we are not worried about them. We will go out to do our job from the first minute itself," the coach added.

The Blue Tigers had their practice session on Saturday morning and the news from the camp is that there are no injury concerns with all 23 players available for selection.

Midfielder Brandon Fernandes insisted that the team has "everything to play for."

Speaking at the official pre-match press conference, Brandon said: "We have had two disappointing results so far. Understandably, the mood was dull in the camp. But tomorrow we have everything to fight for. We are positive, and have prepared well for this game. Everyone is focused in winning the match."

Stimac echoed the same sentiment mentioning the lack of discipline on the pitch. "We haven't been disciplined enough on the pitch. For all those simple mistakes, we are currently on two points whereas we should have been on 6 points now," he opined.

"We know it will not be easy against Nepal. But we could win against them in Kathmandu, we can do it here too. But I reiterate that for that to happen we need to be committed and disciplined," he added.

Nepal and India will lock horns on Sunday.

( With inputs from ANI )