Tuesday , March 19 2024

Captain Sunil Chhetri calls on India facing tough oppositions abroad!

On the sidelines of a sponsors event, India national football team captain Sunil Chhetri spoke about Team India, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and much more.

“What I’m looking forward is winning games outside the country which is very important. Our home record is fairly good but outside home we have really struggled. I just hope in the next six months we get more away games against much better opponents so that we can test ourselves. What we are facing (in Asian Cup) are the best in Asia,” Chhetri said.

The prolific striker’s remarks make sense as India has done badly against continental opponents away from home during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, which preceded the Asian Cup qualification rounds. India had lost to Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and even to Guam in their away matches of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Stephen Constantine-coached side won just two matches out of 10 World Cup qualifiers, which there both at home.

Chhetri, who turns 34 this August, does not agree with the view that India has got an easier group this time as compared to the 2011 edition where the country was clubbed with Asian powerhouses Australia and South Korea as well as Bahrain. This time, India has been grouped with UAE, Thailand and Bahrain.

“If you say it can be easier because we are doing well that can be a valid point. But we can’t say it is UAE, Thailand and Bahrain and so it is easier. Only because we are not facing Australia and South Korea people think it’s going to be easy. It is not,” he said on the sidelines of an initiative by KIA Motors India to select two school children as official match ball carriers for the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

“UAE is ahead of us and they are playing at home. Thailand is the most improved side in Asia in the last six years. We played against Thailand in six-seven years ago and it was a 2-2 draw. They are competing with the best in Asia. Australia and Japan are finding difficult to beat Thailand.”

Nonetheless, the star striker said his team “should look to take maximum points in their first match” if they they want to proceed further in the tournament.

Chhetri also said that the impressive run in the Asian Cup qualifying campaign, during which India had a 13-match unbeaten run, will count for nothing in the main round. The impressive run had contributed to India returning to top 100 in FIFA rankings after a long time.

“I am happy with the kind of performance we have put into. But I don’t give too much importance to FIFA rankings. We have broken inside top 100 but the way rankings work is very tricky. What we have to deal with is a much bigger stage and it will not help by what we have done before,” he said.

Chhetri will, no doubt, be playing in his last Asian Cup next year and he could become the only Indian to have played in two editions of the continental showpiece. He scored two goals out of three by his team in the 2011 edition in Doha. He has donned India jerseys 97 times so far and his 100th match is expected to come up during the four-team Intercontinental Cup to be held from June 1 in Mumbai, which will also involve South Africa, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei.

“It has been an unbelievable ride. I started out from Delhi and the only reason why I wanted to play India U-17 was to get a certificate to get into St. Stephen’s. Whatever I have achieved now is something I have never dreamt of. I am living a dream and I am really happy about it. I could not have asked for anything more.”

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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