Fans at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati were left disappointed on March 26 evening as the Indian football team yet again dished out a disappointing performance, against Afghanistan.
India went down 1-2 against Afghanistan (Read Match Report) at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers in Guwahati on March 26.
As the match ended, the most vocal of the fans gave ‘Viking Clap’ to the Afghanistan team before heading to the front of the stadium to protest against the Indian team’s lackluster performance.
As the team left the stadium, slogans like “Gali Gali Mein Shor hai, AIFF Chor Hai,” echoed the stadium. Coach Igor Stimac was in particular targeted with slogans like “Stimac Out” by the angry fans. He was whisked away to the team bus.
While there was no official comment on the incident, captain Sunil Chhetri was seen folding his hands from inside the team bus even as the protesting fans made it a point to celebrate the contribution of their Captain Fantastic.
In fact, even before the match started, the Blue Pilgrims – the official fans’ group of the national team – raised a three-part banner at the South East Stand of the stadium asking the team to “FOCUS”.
Also, during the pre-match press conference on March 25, coach Igor Stimac was grilled by the media for the teams’ recent performances to which Igor said that he will leave the assignment if India fails to qualify for the third round of the Qualifiers.
And as the result in Guwahati on March 26 puts it (India may not make it to the third round after-all), the days of Igor Stimac may soon be over!
