AFC Asian Cup 2024: 'India are hungrier Side Than Before,' Says Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

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AFC Asian Cup 2024 will have the Indian football team in focus on January 13 when they take on World No. 25 Australia in Al Rayyan, Qatar. The national team's goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is all set to play his third Asian Cup in succession and will be looking to rub off his experience to his teammates.

In fact, there are nine players in the squad, who have the previous experience of playing at the continental tournament, including skipper Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, and Udanta Singh. The rest of the 17 players will be playing at the tournament for the first time.

This makes the role of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Co. important as they have the understanding of how to approach the AFC Asian Cup 2024, which is a realistic opportunity for teams like Australia, Japan, South Korea, and other Arab siders to win a valuable international title.

"There's been a big transition over the years," Gupreet Singh Sandhu told aiff.com. "A lot of the players in 2011 were on the verge of ending their careers, so we had fresh players come in after that. Now we are at a stage where many of the boys have already played an Asian Cup before - Sandesh, Subhasish and Anirudh Thapa were all part of the Asian Cup last time and will be playing their second edition this time around.

The experienced players are not the only strength of the squad as the 31-year-old goalkeeper pointed out that Indian players have that extra fire in them to push themselves beyond their limits and it will be his job to guide the players on how to show that intent in a tournament like AFC Asian Cup 2024.

"Over the years, this has grown to be an experienced and educated lot in terms of footballing aptitude, albeit a hungrier side. I've learned over the years that one needs to show the right intent that we have. As a player, I did not know how important it could be to show intent in the last two Asian Cups. In 2011, I was just 18 and was lucky to even be in the side, and in 2019, I was playing at that stage for the first time, but I think I have the correct experience now to come with that intent and have it rub off on the others," he said.