Impressed by the overwhelming turnout for his final qualifying game despite heavy rain, Chhetri expressed his desire to play the final in India.
“The kind of form we are in, we would have loved to play at home.
The way the fans are coming and supporting us in numbers, it will be great to play here,” said Chhetri after securing a second straight qualification for the Asian Cup for the first time in India’s history.
China, where the Asian Cup final was to be held next year, withdrew as hosts in view of the fluid COVID-19 situation in the country.
India defeated Cambodia and Afghanistan before winning over Hong Kong in Group D of the third round of the Asian Cup Qualifiers.
All matches were played at the Salt Lake S Stadium, where India were playing for the first time in more than two years.
Chhetri praised the youth’s rise in the national team during the three-match campaign.
“The kids are just amazing, they’d probably kill me for calling them kids, the boys are fantastic. We have the right mix of senior and junior players in the dressing room. You have Akash (Kolako) and Suresh (Wangjam) with Liston (Colaco) and Suresh (Wangjam). There is also M Ishra) and Roshan (Singh) who have been fantastic.”
“So yes, a lot of youngsters are coming in, and Ishaan (Pandita) has also been excellent in training, and look what he did today.
Ishaan and Sahal (Abdul Samad) are two players who deserve nights like this,” said Chhetri, who scored the second goal of the night, while Anwar Ali, Manveer Singh and Ishaan Pan Deeta recorded their names on the scoresheet.
Chhetri is set to play in the final of his third Asian Cup tournament after previous performances in 2011 and 2019.
Despite being 37 years old, the striker feels he is at his peak now.
“Now I am reaching my peak. The last Asian Cup is already over. We want to work really hard. It doesn’t matter if I am there in the next big tournament or someone else gets the nod, India Should be in the Asian Cup, I have already said that.
“It is paramount for us as a nation to stay in the Asian Cup so that we can shrug our shoulders with the best in India, which doesn’t happen very often. This gives us an opportunity to play friendly with better ranked opponents leading up to the tournament,” said the talismanic striker.
After scoring his 84th goal in the national color against Hong Kong, Chhetri leveled the list of all-time international goalscorers with Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas, where he is currently ranked joint-fifth.
However, the Bengaluru FC man reiterated that he doesn’t pay much attention to records.
“Feeling good, but you have to move on. I don’t really think too much about records. I know I don’t have that many matches left, looking at the number of matches I’ve played for the country. I go there I want to enjoy and enjoy every game.
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