NEW DELHI: India will face Lebanon in their final round-robin match of the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar with the aim of breaking into the top-100 in the FIFA rankings.
The Blue Tigers have already secured a spot in the final after defeating Mongolia and Vanuatu in their previous matches.
This match against Lebanon is crucial for India as they currently sit at 101 in the rankings, while Lebanon is ranked 99th. A victory for India would see them surpass Lebanon in the rankings and re-enter the top-100.
The significance of this match is reminiscent of India's triumph in the inaugural edition of the Intercontinental Cup in 2018, which also propelled them into the top-100 of the FIFA rankings.
India's highest FIFA ranking to date is 94, achieved in February 1996 during the golden era of Indian football with players like Bhaichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan.
For Lebanon, this match presents a do-or-die opportunity as they failed to defeat Mongolia. A draw would be sufficient for them to secure a rematch against India in the final.
However, if Mongolia wins their earlier match against Vanuatu, a defeat for Lebanon would make the qualification equation come down to goal difference.
"We're playing at home, and we come out in every game with the only aim of winning it," said Stimac.
"It doesn't matter how Lebanon fared in their previous game. They found it tough to play two games at four in the afternoon.
"For us, it's going to be a difficult match, as some of their players have enormous quality. They do have weaknesses also, of course, which we could see.
"So, it will be an interesting game, maybe not beautiful, but definitely interesting," the Croat added.
India are yet to concede a goal in the tournament but they have struggled to score up front as well.
It took a brilliant strike from Sunil Chhetri late in the 80th minute to seal the game against little-known Vanuatu on Friday.
"Many things were not as I wanted them to be, and we will work on them. But many things were beautiful as well, which we could enjoy," Stimac said.
"It's important to break teams down early because as time progresses, it gets tougher and tougher. We saw that in Lebanon's game against Mongolia as well," Stimac added.
Assessing Lebanon's goalless draw against Mongolia, Ilic said, "We did well in terms of running and positioning ourselves on the pitch.
"We controlled the game for not just 90 but 100 minutes, and Mongolia couldn't come near our goal. But our decisions in the final third and the final passes haven't been up to the mark. This is the most important problem for us at the moment, and we'll need to do better. We need to have better connections between our strikers," he added.
With a much closer contest on the cards against India, the Cedars know they will have to make the most of every opportunity.
"India are the best challenge for us in this tournament, and we really need to improve our level for that game. We are still not qualified for the final since things still depend on the Mongolia-Vanuatu match and our game with India.
"It's been tough playing every three days in such weather, but we knew of the conditions before arriving here and will give our best," the Lebanon coach signed off.
(With PTI inputs)
