India have enjoyed success in recent times and won many admirers for their performance in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 and expectations are for the team to continue building on that, especially with the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Qualifiers to kick off soon

In former international Stimac, India have a head coach who has enjoyed success both as a player and a coach and he shares his thoughts and aspirations in an interview with the-AFC.com.

The Croatian will be taking over from Stephen Constantine who stepped down as India's head coach after their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 exit.

Albert Roca of Spain, Hakan Ericson of Sweden and Lee Min-sung of Korea Republic were also in the fray for the position, but Stimac pipped them to the post.

Courtesy of his time with Bengaluru FC, who were the winners of the Indian Super League in 2019, Roca was earlier considered one of the top contenders for the job.

The Al Hilal star has not played since last October following knee surgery which saw him also miss out on the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Abdulrahman, however, resumed training earlier this month and Van Marwijk - who was appointed in March - decided on including him in the 27-man squad after being briefed on his progress by Al Hilal.

Qatar will become the first West Asian team to participate in the Copa America, and will be joined by AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 runners-up Japan, as the Samurai Blue return to the tournament for the first since their inaugural appearance in 1999.

Lippi, who vacated the role after China PR were defeated by Islamic Republic of Iran in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals in late January, is tasked with guiding the team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

China PR have reached the World Cup only once, in 2002.

The 17-year-old, an attacking midfielder for J1 side FC Tokyo, was one of three uncapped players named to the squad, joining Yuta Nakayama, 22, a centre-back with Dutch first-division club PEC Zwolle, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima goalkeeper Keisuke Osako, 19.

"We want to incorporate a new generation (of players) and give them deeper exposure to our team tactics," said Samurai Blue head coach Hajime Moriyasu.

Sydney FC championship winning duo Andrew Redmayne (pictured above) and Brandon O’Neill were rewarded for their successful A-League seasons, as was Melbourne Victory’s Lawrence Thomas, whilst 20-year-old defender Harry Souttar (pictured below, left), who plays with Championship side Stoke City, English-based winger Ryan Williams and German-based striker Brandon Borrello all have a chance to earn their first Socceroos caps.

World football's governing body said in a statement that "following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that under the current circumstances such a proposal could not be made now".

"(The tournament) will therefore remain as originally planned with 32 teams and no proposal will be submitted at the next FIFA Congress on 5 June," FIFA added.

The statement said that the study "concluded that due to the advanced stage of preparations and the need for a detailed assessment of the potential logistical impact on the host country, more time would be required and a decision could not be taken before the deadline of June."