On 15 May 2019, the AIFF announced former Croatian player Igor Štimac as the team's head coach after the departure of Stephen Constantine. Under his coaching India's first campaign was 2019 King's Cup where the first match was against Curaçao, which ended up as 3−1 loss. In that match Štimac had given six players their international debut. In the next match against the host Thailand they managed a 1−0 victory acquiring the third place in the tournament. Štimac's major campaign with India was 2022 World Cup qualification, with a 1–2 home loss to Oman. But in the second match they earned a respectable point after managing a goalless draw against the 2019 Asian Champion and 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar.