A last-minute strike by Sunil Chhetri helped India break a 64-year-old jinx as they pipped Myanmar by a solitary goal to begin their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers campaign on a promising note, in Yangon, Myanmar on Tuesday.
'We are a team who hate to lose, and we have proven it in recent times. We are working as per the plan'
Sunil Chhetri scored in the 57th and 90th minutes of his 200th game for the club
Star striker Sunil Chhetri was bought at Rs 1.20 crore at the first-ever Indian Super League's auction featuring 10 domestic football players in Mumbai, on Friday.
To say Sunil Chhetri and Lionel Messi in the same breath is more than a little odd, is what the talismanic Indian striker himself felt once or twice.
Refusing to share her exact concerns, Mary Kom said she would rather discuss them in the meeting with Mandaviya and BFI top brass.
India captain Sunil Chhetri has urged fans to be patient with the team and coach Stephen Constantine after the national team's yet another shambolic qualification campaign for the 2018 soccer World Cup.
India will face Pakistan in their opening outing at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday
Stimac, whose contract was terminated on Monday, coached India for five years.
Having endured a topsy-turvy start to their campaign before a fine turnaround, seven-time champions India start as title favourites when they take on first-time finalists Nepal in the summit clash of the SAFF Championships, in Male, on Saturday.
'From passing the ball in the right passages to the defence to amazing guarding of the goals by Sandhu throughout the tournament it has been a top notch performance from the entire squad.'
Mountaineer Bachendri Pal was, on Friday, conferred with the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, while Gautam Gambhir, BajranG Punia and Sunil Chhetri, among others, received the Padma Shri.
A goal each half gave India a 2-0 victory over Nepal, and made Sunil Chhetri the country's all-time leading goal-scorer, in Tuesday's friendly at the Kanchenjunga stadium in Siliguri.
Indian cricket's Test captain Virat Kohli has congratulated the national football team and lavished praise on skipper Sunil Chhetri for leading the side to a record seventh SAFF Cup triumph. India exacted sweet revenge of their last edition defeat as they beat defending champions Afghanistan 2-1 in the summit clash in a dominating display to lift the South Asian Football Federation Cup in Thiruvananthapuram last night.
'Every game is important, every win is important, especially clean sheets, so I am very happy. But I can tell you that I was not at all happy at half time. We played well in the first 10 minutes, and then we disappeared.'
Chhetri is the lone surviving member of the 2011 team who lost all three group games in Qatar but the 34-year-old is determined to make a mark in what is potentially his final appearance in the continent's biggest tournament next month.
'Marquez is trying to instil his philosophy, and that's going to take time. In every camp, we're getting closer to what he wants from us as a team. With time, training, and the level of coaching he has, I have no doubt we'll be a strong team in the qualifiers.'
This will be the second time India will face Kuwait in the tournament. They had played out a 1-1 draw in an acrimonious Group A match last week.
It also showed that a side placed 102nd in the FIFA World Rankings can thwart a team placed 77 places above them. And India did keep the mighty Aussies out for 50 minutes before a fatal error saw the Blue Tigers punished after all the good work.
Dimas Delgado found Harmanjot Khabra who routed the attack from the right and floated a perfect cross into the box. Chhetri leapt higher than Shubham Sarangi and headed home. The goal made him the first Indian player to record 50 goals contributions in the Hero ISL -- 42 goals and 8 assists.
Just prior to half-time the ball rolled outside the pitch and Pakistan defender Abdullah Iqbal was going to take the throw. But Stimac was seen walking up to him and knocking the ball out of his hand.
In huge development in the I-League, India captain and striker Sunil Chhetri was snapped up by debutants JSW Sports on Friday.
Head coach Manolo Marquez will seek his first win with Team India in an international friendly against Vietnam in Nahm Din, Vietnam on Saturday which was originally planned as a Tri-Nation tournament before Lebanon's withdrawal.
Gurpreet was in the thick of things when the ball went over the line and out of play.
Marquez had only two training sessions with the team before naming a 26-member squad featuring new and returning players as India adapts to life after Sunil Chhetri's retirement.
In one of the most endearing messages for the India U-17 squad, senior team skipper Sunil Chhetri on Thursday sought "forgiveness for being jealous" of the likes of Amarjit Singh and Co, who are set to be part of India's first ever World Cup squad.
'It's about experience. My players were fit, in fact fitter than Oman, but they were more experienced.' Coach Stimac rues India's one-man attack after Oman agony
Asian Cup rivals Australia, Uzbekistan notches above us but can test against them: Chhetri
Star striker Sunil Chhetri finally found his goal-scoring touch and scored twice as Mumbai City FC swamped Delhi Dynamos 2-0 to notch up their maiden win in four games in the Indian Super League.
'This is the tournament we play for. We get to rub our shoulders against best in Asia which we don't get many times'
India a step closer to 2019 Asian Cup
Costa nodded home a Javier Hernandez corner at the far post to log home full points for BFC
India football captain Sunil Chhetri capped a superb display with a fine hat-trick to orchestrate Mumbai City FC's 5-1 rout of North East United FC in the Indian Super League at the D Y Patil Stadium.
Bayern come from behind to beat gutsy Mainz 2-1 and widen gap.
Chhetri has played for India 142 times and has scored 92 goals, the most by an Indian. He is also currently the third most prolific scorer in international football among active players, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Chhetri works his magic but India split points with Kuwait
India head coach Igor Stimac on Monday stated that his team has a great deal to learn from their Tuesday 2026 FIFA World Cup round 2 qualifying encounter against Asian champions Qatar.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'When the girls said they want to play football, the mothers were encouraging.' 'It was the fathers who were against the idea.'
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