Up against the 91st-ranked Bahrain, Stimac's side, which is currently placed at 104 in the FIFA rankings, found the going tough from the word go and, had it not been for a fine save by skipper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the Indians would have trailed by a bigger margin at half time.
West Ham United made absolutely certain of Premier League safety with a 2-0 win over 10-man Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday -- their third victory over their London rivals this season.
Marcus Rashford's impressive form at Manchester United earned him a spot in England's provisional Euro 2016 squad and according to team mate Wayne Rooney the teenaged striker deserves all the recognition.
England face the Czechs away in Group A on Friday before visiting Bulgaria on Monday
As the Premier League resumes following the international break all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo's homecoming party at Old Trafford on Saturday, with the Portuguese international set to resume his Manchester United career after 12 years away.
England drew 0-0 with Slovakia on Monday to finish second in Euro 2016 Group B and qualify for the knockout phase behind Wales who beat Russia 3-0 in their final match.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Tunisia need a new game-plan if they are to avoid their usual fate of falling at the first hurdle of a World Cup.
England will need to defeat Namibia in their last league match and hope that Scotland lose to Australia.
Should the Portugal forward triumph, he will equal the record of his great rival and five-time winner Lionel Messi of Barcelona, who is also nominated.
Images from EPL matches played on Saturday.
High drama ensued during the English Premier League matches on Wednesday as Spurs manager Jose Mourinho was booked while Brighton stunned Chelsea via Alireza Jahanbakhsh's superb equaliser to deny the Blues victory. Here is all the EPL action in IMAGES from Wednesday's matches.
Southampton clinched a thrilling comeback draw against Tottenham Hotspurs in their Premier League encounter on Saturday.
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
The value of an in-form striker was underlined as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao needed goals from pivotal front men to grab vital wins that booked places in the Europa League last 32 on Thursday.
An impressive England advanced to their first World Cup semi-final for 28 years on Saturday after headers by Harry Maguire and Dele Alli gave them a deserved 2-0 last-eight victory over a disappointing Sweden.
Manchester United replaced Manchester City as Premier League leaders with Wayne Rooney ending an 11-match run without a league goal in his side's comfortable 3-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.
England's young forwards must consider leaving major clubs to play more regularly in their preferred positions and boost their chances of breaking into the national team, former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright has said.
Tottenham were booed off at the final whistle as defeat left them in fifth place
'Oh, I need competition. When someone says he's better than me, I want to transcend him. Ronaldo wants to be the best at everything, (France striker Kylian) Mbappe also wants to win everything.'
Each Round of 16 game was entertaining. Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the games to remember.
Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante was named Player of the Year by the Premier League on Sunday, adding a third individual accolade to a list of achievements this season that includes winning a second consecutive Premier League title.
When you look at the teams, I suppose they are coming into auction when their top-order is pretty much full. So, in that regard, I don't see many batters going for huge amounts of money, reckons Eoin Morgan.
Daley Blind may lack the height and power but the Manchester United midfielder insists he possesses the footballing intelligence to flourish as a centre-back.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Video footage showed Tottenham's Eric Dier climbing over seats and confronting a home fan before he was restrained by security guards and other fans. He was eventually led away.
Danny Welbeck says he has emerged mentally stronger after a knee injury ruled him out of the 2016 European Championships and the 27-year-old is keen to make an impact in next month's World Cup in Russia.
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Tottenham moved up to seventh place with 36 points from 22 games
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday
The English top flight was the earliest of the major European leagues to start this season, kicking off on Aug. 10, a week before Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A and a fortnight ahead of Germany's Bundesliga.
Tottenham Hotspur have named Antonio Conte as manager until the summer of 2023, the English Premier League club said on Tuesday, a day after sacking Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Images from the English Premier League matches played over the weekend.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Holders Manchester City were eliminated from the League Cup by West Ham United after a penalty shootout at London Stadium on Wednesday, ending Pep Guardiola's team's four-year domination of the competition.
Timo Werner scored his first goal of the season as a much-changed Chelsea side crept into the fourth round of the League Cup by beating Aston Villa 4-3 on penalties after the Stamford Bridge clash ended 1-1 on Wednesday.
England manager Roy Hodgson has hit out at critics who have questioned his team's patriotism and desire ahead of their European Championship clash against Wales in Lens on Thursday. Wales striker Gareth Bale last week said his team had "more passion and pride" than England, who "big themselves up before they've done anything". Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev also labelled Hodgson's men the weakest seeded team in the Euro 2016 prior to Saturday's draw with England. "I've been in the game sufficiently long to know every opponent has got an opinion," Hodgson told reporters.
Manchester City needed a second-half penalty from striker Erling Haaland to break the resistance of a dogged Crystal Palace.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday night
