Igor Štimac (pronounced [îgor ʃtǐːmats];[1][2] born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player.

[13] Previously, Štimac was a member of the highly talented Yugoslavia under-20 team that won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile, playing four games and scoring two goals in the tournament.

[14] Štimac started his managerial career in 2001, taking charge of the Hajduk Split football academy and also acting as the club's sport director.

On 14 September 2009, he was appointed as the new NK Zagreb manager after they lost the first seven games of the season, replacing Luka Pavlović.

His first match as Croatia manager came in a friendly game against Switzerland at Poljud Stadium, which ended in a disappointing 2–4 loss.

[17] Despite that loss, Croatia entered the 2014 World Cup qualifies in decent fashion, taking 16 points from first six games.

Despite some criticism Štimac managed to take the FIFA Ranking of Croatia to 4th position just behind Spain, Germany and Argentina, respectively.

[27] Players like Mateo Kovačić[28] and Alen Halilović[29] also made their debuts for the Croatia national team during Štimac's stint.

[30] Štimac quit after only six months in charge, as club was administratively relegated to second division by the licensing board of the HNS due to financial irregularities 3 games before the league ended.

[39][40] India were beaten by Oman[41] and Qatar,[42] gained only a draw with Afghanistan, and their only win in qualification came with a 2–0 victory over neighbour Bangladesh.

On 18 June 2023, under Štimac's leadership, India won a second Intercontinental Cup after overcoming Lebanon 2–0 in the final at the Kalinga Stadium.

The 2023 SAFF Championship was the first time India had defeated two West Asian countries in back-to-back matches, after winning the semi-final against Lebanon, also on penalties.

Stimac, who has been at the helm since 2019, received a contract extension that will keep him in charge of both the senior and under-23 men’s national football teams until June 2026.

[46] Furthermore, if Stimac guides India to the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which commence in November 2024, his contract will automatically be renewed until 2028.