AFC Asian Cup 2024: 'India Are Not Going To Defend, We Are Not Scared But Humble,' Says Sunil Chhetri

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Indian captain Sunil Chhetri said Blue Tigers are not anymore a side that approaches a tournament like AFC Asian Cup 2024 with the mentality to defend as they are a confident side, who are humble enough to know their place in the continent.

India are all set to face World No. 25 Australia in their opening Group B match of the AFC Asian Cup 2024, which is their toughest opponent since head coach Igor Stimac took charge. Sunil Chhetri is certainly excited about the encounter as he added that their performance against Qatar recently made them realise that they have improved as a side.

India faced Qatar in the Asian World Cup Qualifiers back in November in Bhubaneswar. India conceded the game 3-0 but India's performance in the game was noteworthy as there were moments in the game when the Blue Tigers took complete charge of the game.

"The way we played against Qatar, one of the things that we understood as a nation is we are improving," Sunil Chhetri told RevSportz. "It is not that now you are going to see a team which is just going to go and defend. We have an idea, a lot of players are improving and collectively, we are not scared. We know where we stand, we are very humble. We know we are between 14 and 18 in Asia in terms of level. We know we can take it from 10 to 14."

Indian football team, who are currently ranked 102 in FIFA, has gained a lot of popularity for their performances in 2023 for winning SAFF Championships and Intercontinental Cup by defeating Gulf Nations such as Kuwait and Lebanon while putting up a valiant show against Iraq (2-2) in the Kings' Cup in Bangkok as well.

Sunil Chhetri said India have played the likes of Nepal, and Maldives a lot and need to look beyond them and play the top AFC nations such as Australia, South Korea, Japan among others frequently in order to improve further. The 39-year-old forward insisted that playing SAFF nations won't take them anywhere.

"Without disrespecting the SAFF Cup, we have won it. But where we want to reach, we will not reach if we keep playing SAFF nations. And this is with due respect to all SAFF nations. You play Qatar, UAE, Palestine, and Lebanon, which is from 10 to 14 to 8 (rank), and then you start punching above your weight and start getting a game against Australia, Japan, and South Korea," said Sunil Chhetri, who has scored 93 international goals.

In the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2024, India will also face Uzbekistan (January 18) and Syria (January 23) in the group stages with the top two teams directly qualifying for the knockout stages. Top four of the six best-performing third-placed teams will also reach the pre-quarterfinals.