The Indian football team's defense was tested on various levels by Qatar’s attackers but the Blue Tigers held firm to hold the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions to a goalless draw at Doha on Tuesday.

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Team India coach Igor Stimac was absolutely delighted with the way his boys played against Qatar and said he wants them to stay grounded as they cannot lose their focus during the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers.

“As a coach, I don’t have time to waste in thinking too much higher than it was a few days ago when we lost to Oman. Still today as a coach, of course, I am more than happy to get a point against the reigning champions of Asia,” Stimac said during the post-match press conference.

“We need to improve in certain areas, on the other hand, all congratulations not just to my players but also for Qatar. There was excitement in front of both goals, of course.”

“It was a great experience for us. All credits to my players, I am very proud of my players. But the message to the team is to keep yourself down as it is just a point,” he added.

The 'Blue Tigers' took on the Asia Cup champions on Tuesday without their star forward Sunil Chhetri, who missed this crucial tie due to fever.  

“Qatar deserved more from this game. They created more chances today but we also had many chances,” Stimac said.

Stimac also defended his team’s fitness, which was criticized after India's 2-1 to Oman in their opening match of the campaign. 

“You see, I cannot reply to each comment after a game because not many people are well educated about football. We are a fit team and we proved it today.

“We played against Qatar and we made space for ourselves even in the last minutes. We made sprints even in the 95th minute, showing a lot of concentration. So we showed good fitness,” Stimac said.

India will be taking on Bangladesh in their next World Cup 2022 qualifier match on October 15 in Kolkata and the national team coach wants the fans to come in with the hype. 

“Our country has a population of over 1.3 billion people, compared to that this was a very small crowd.

“I want to see 80,000 people in Kolkata against Bangladesh. We deserve that and they need to come and support us,” Stimac said.