New Delhi: The Indian football team might have turned out to be a tougher opponent in home conditions but it is in desperate need for quality away games, believes skipper Sunil Chhetri and feels the next target for the country should be a top-10 place in Asia so that the big guns invite them over.
“For Asia Cup, the first thing that we need is to play many tough nations in away games. Well, whom we should be playing depends on the federation and our chief coach (Stephen Constantine) but we need away games now,” Chhetri said Sunday.
The 33-year-old was India’s top-scorer with eight strikes in the just concluded victorious Intercontinental Cup campaign and has also equaled Argentine Lionel Messi’s record of 64 goals in the active scorers list. Chhetri now stand second behind another great Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo who has 81 goals to his name.
The prolific striker also asserted that India might be in the top 100 in terms of rankings but that doesn’t allow them to invite better ranked teams at home. “In my mind, the first goal is to get inside Asia’s top 10 nations. We have to accept that we are still not there. Teams like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Australia are better than us,” Chhetri pointed out.
Constantine hails players
Mumbai: India football team head coach Stephen Constantine feels that the attitude which his boys showed during their successful Intercontinental Cup campaign would be crucial to ensure that the country doesn’t just make up the numbers in next year’s AFC Asian Cup. India are clubbed with hosts UAE, Bahrain and Thailand and the lads will have to perform their skin out if they want to qualify for the next stage. “We know we have a huge task going to the Asian Cup. We believe that if we do the right things between now and then, we have a chance to qualify from the group and that will be our main target,” Constantine said.
