“Things that have never happened before happen all the time” – Scott Sagan
On a rainy night in Kolkata’s illustrious Salt Lake Stadium, the Indian men’s football team dared to dream. After sailing past Cambodia and narrowly edging a win against Afghanistan, they had already qualified from Group D for the Asian Cup 2023. Instead of resting their key players, India proceeded to thrash Hong Kong 4-0, sending a statement that there is a tsunami of change coming to Indian football.
India played creative and positive football throughout the qualifiers and the game against Afghanistan is one Indian fans will not forget soon. After Chhetri’s masterful free kick was neutralised by an Afghan set piece, Sahal Abdul Samad squeezed in the winner in the dying minutes of the game. The team refused to put their head down and found a way to win, which shows that this set of players are destined for big things.
The 4-0 win against Hong Kong is India’s biggest win against Croatian coach Igor Stimac, who has been in charge of the team since 2019. A young star is born in the form of Ishan Pandita, who maintained his composure to beautifully flick a Manvir Singh cross into the goal for India’s fourth of the night. India finished atop Group D with 3 wins out of 3, which sets the tone for their Asian Cup campaign.
Chhetri finished as the top scorer in the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers with 4 goals in 3 games. A generally composed man, even Chhetri could not hide his emotions as he was seen with a wide grin after India’s third win in as many games. With his goal against Hong Kong, he equalled Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas and is now tied for 5th on the list of all time top scorers in men’s international football. With every goal that he scores, Chhetri keeps setting the bar higher and higher for himself and I’m sure that in his mind, he will be vying for that elusive 100th goal for his country.
This is the first time that India has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup in back to back editions. The 2023 edition will be the fifth time that India participates in the competition, previously appearing in the 1964,1984, 2011 and 2019 editions. The runner-up finish in 1964 remains India’s best showing in the tournament and Stimac’s boys will fancy their chances to claim the trophy.
The future looks extremely bright for the Blue Tigers as they have finally found the creative spark in the attacking third that they have been searching for for months. The extended football calendar with the Durand Cup and Super Cup featuring with the ISL will help players prepare for the Asian Cup and India will be looking to avenge the disappointment of missing out on the knockout stages in the 2019 edition of the Asian Cup.
Image: Sunil Chhetri (Courtesy: AIFF, https://www.the-aiff.com/article/sunil-chhetri-brace-hands-india-victory-against-bangladesh)
