"They have progressively improved from when we met them for the first time" - Sunil Chhetri weighs in on the India vs Afghanistan rivalry
The Indian national football team will lock horns with Afghanistan, the Lions of Khorasan, in their third and fourth fixtures of the second round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The first game is set to be played in Abha on March 22, Saudi Arabia, while the reverse fixture will be hosted in Guwahati four days later.
The two teams have faced each other several times in the past. No other team has played the Blue Tigers more than Afghanistan in the last 15 years. Indian captain Sunil Chhetri's international career began a further four years before that, a testament to his perseverance as he remains the most potent attacking weapon going into Friday's encounter.
Ahead of the game, the 39-year-old stalwart spoke about how the two teams have evolved since he first took to the pitch against Afghanistan:
"They have progressively improved from when we met them for the first time. The games were comfortable, but slowly and steadily they progressed. And because of being in the same region, the rivalry also generated. Hence, the games became quite close. Both India and Afghanistan have improved in the last decade or so. Having players who play outside has really helped them."
"The importance of the goal was huge" - Sunil Chhetri on Sahal Abdul Samad's goal in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers
Qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup is always a big deal for a footballing nation like India who must take every opportunity to rub shoulders with the continent's best.
Despite the Asian Cup 2024 itself ending on a bleak note for the Blue Tigers with three losses in three matches, the qualifiers in 2022 were very memorable.
Sunil Chhetri remembers the game against Afghanistan in particular. He said:
"I would pick the Asian Cup Qualifier in Kolkata as my favourite moment (against Afghanistan). The only thing we remember from that match is Sahal's goal because of the way it turned out. None of us, probably the whole country would not remember anything else but the added-time goal."
Despite Chhetri being modest, the skipper had provided a moment of pure genius in that game. In the 86th minute, the then 38-year-old casually stepped up to lift a free-kick over the Afghani wall into the back of the net with panache to break the deadlock.
However, the Lions of Khorasan equalized in the 88th minute. However, Sahal Abdul Samad fired the ball into the net in the first minute of added time to clinch a crucial victory for the Blue Tigers. Chhetri said about the importance of the goal:
"Udanta keeping the ball in, giving it to Ashique, Ashique holding the ball and laying it to Sahal, and Sahal finishing it. That probably will stay with all of us for a long, long time because the importance of the goal was huge at that moment as it gave us qualification for the Asian Cup."
Now, however, the challenge is even bigger with a distant possibility of qualifying for the World Cup on the cards. Many would stay that it is still a pipe dream, but the further India goes through the qualifying rounds, the more confidence will it instill in the team.