Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri says the side would love to play the AFC Asian Cup 2023 on home soil with the star forward confessing to 바카라hitting my peak바카라 at 37. (More Football News)
A near-capacity crowd at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata witnessed the Indian national football team qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 finals in style, beating Hong Kong 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Impressed by the huge turnout for their last qualifying game despite heavy rains, Chhetri expressed his desire to play the finals in India.
바카라The kind of form we are in, we would have loved to play at home. The way the fans are coming up and supporting us in numbers, it would be great to play here,바카라 said Chhetri after India secured a second straight qualification to the Asian Cup for the first time in history.
China, where the Asian Cup finals were scheduled next year, had withdrawn as hosts keeping the fluid COVID-19 situation in the country. India defeated Cambodia and Afghanistan before securing a convincing win over Hong Kong in Group D of the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers.
All matches were played at the Salt Lake Stadium, where India were playing for the first time in over two years. Chhetri praised the rise of youngsters in the national team over the course of the three-match campaign.
바카라The kids are just amazing, They바카라ll probably kill me for calling kids, the boys are fantastic. We have the right mix of senior and junior players in the dressing room. You바카라ve also got Liston (Colaco) and Suresh (Wangjam) along with Akash (Mishra) and Roshan (Singh) who have been brilliant.바카라
바카라So yes, a lot of youngsters coming up, and also Ishan (Pandita) has been outstanding in training too, and look what he did today. Ishan and Sahal (Abdul Samad) are two players who deserve nights like this," said Chhetri.
While Chhetri scored the second goal of the night, the likes of Anwar Ali, Manvir Singh, and Ishan Pandita got their names on the scoresheet. Chhetri is set to play in his third Asian Cup tournament finals after previous appearances in 2011 and 2019.
Despite being 37 years old, the striker feels he is at his peak now. 바카라Now I am hitting my peak. The last Asian Cup is already past. We really want to work hard. It does not matter in the next big tournaments I am there or anyone else gets the nod, India should be there at the Asian Cup, I have already said this.
바카라It is paramount for us as a nation to keep being at the Asian Cup so that we can rub our shoulders with the best in India, which is not very often. This gives us a chance to play friendlies with better-ranked opponents leading up to the tournament,바카라 said the talismanic striker.
Having scored his 84th goal in national colours against Hong Kong, Chhetri levelled with Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas in the list of all-time international goal scorers, where he currently sits joint-fifth. However, the Bengaluru FC man reiterated that he does not pay too much heed to records.
바카라Feels good, but you have to carry on. I genuinely do not think too much about the records. I know considering the number of matches I바카라ve played for the country, I don바카라t have that many left. I want to go out there and enjoy every game.
바카라I want to slide, I want to run and I want to do each and everything I can because I know it isn바카라t going to last a really long time. It바카라s absolutely the best thing to happen to my life 바카라 playing for my country. It바카라s an absolute honour, every bit of it,바카라 concluded Chhetri.
