Igor Stimac feels that India’s upcoming friendly against Brazil could turn into ‘a day of embarrassment.’ The former India head coach slammed the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) decision to withdraw from the FIFA ASEAN Cup, calling it a ‘marketing move’.

The Indian senior men’s football team are scheduled to face Brazil on October 3 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The decision to face Brazil saw the AIFF withdraw from the upcoming FIFA ASEAN Cup, as it was in the same international window.

The decision to withdraw from the ASEAN Cup has received plenty of criticism from fans and former player Baichung Bhutia.

Stimac joined the bandwagon, urging AIFF to first fix its domestic football calendar, which has been lacking clarity every year.

Speaking to Sports Now, he said, “You need to synchronise the league, and the club with the national team needs.”

“That’s what I was telling you from the very beginning. Because you are at the bottom of world football, not far away from that.

“And to start working precisely on what is needed to rise, you need to synchronise local leagues, which are your base, with the national team’s needs. The tournaments which are organised and you decide to participate in so you can be effective there and get the points and the rankings through those tournaments and the games.

“India playing against Brazil or Argentina, this can only be a day of embarrassment.”

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW WITH IGOR STIMAC:

The Croatian also spoke about Lionel Messi’s recent visit to India and pointed out the amount of money spent on that tour.

“I could see Lionel Messi going there, and everything is nice, and so many people are gathering to see him, to be close, to take photos and all that. How much money did you spend on that? Was that money needed for football development or things like that?

“I mean, some crazy things are going on there about decision-making,” he said.

When asked if it made sense to withdraw from the ASEAN Cup and face Brazil, Stimac concluded, “It’s just a marketing move. Nothing to do with football development. I don’t see anything good coming out of that.”

Other than the Brazil game, India are also likely to face Cape Verde in an international friendly and also another 2026 World Cup team.