FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers - 3 Reasons why India could not live up to expectations

#2 Injuries

India's squad has been ravaged by injuries.

While it is not healthy to blame things on luck, sometimes injuries to key players can make a huge difference in sport. Unfortunately for India, they have faced a series of injuries since September.

Defeat to Oman epitomized this problem as the Blue Tigers were forced to use all their substitutions to replace injured players.

It is not rocket science to figure out how badly that can affect a team's plans. Sadly, Stimac has had to deal with one problem after another since taking over.

Firstly, Amarjit Singh who had quickly became a favourite of coach Igor Stimac has not played a single minute due to a hand injury. Senior defender Sandesh Jhingan suffered an ACL tear just before the game against Bangladesh and has been out of action since.

Quite visibly, his aura, strength, and leadership have been massively missed in the last three games. Even Rowllin Borges has been absent from India's midfield in these three games due to an initial suspension and subsequently an injury he suffered while playing for Mumbai City FC.

Also, talisman Sunil Chhetri was absent from India's trip to Qatar. While, the Blue Tigers produced a memorable result without him, who knows if he was present India might have knicked a goal and got all three points.

Ultimately, one can only wonder how different things would have been if Stimac had better luck with injuries.