Familiarity with Gulf
Having lived a majority of his life in the UAE's Al Ain, Sahal knows the Gulf region well and so does its football culture. Compared to Qatar, Oman may be a different team, but Sahal feels the stalemate against Asian champions has done wonders when it comes to the confidence of the team.
"It was a historical moment. I can proudly say that it was one of the best matches of my career. This achievement has brought in much-needed confidence to the entire team," he said.
Stimac's faith
Sahal is one of the youngsters blooded into the national team by new head coach Igor Stimac. He showed his talent while playing for Indian Super League ISL) club Kerala Blasters where he has been for last two years.
Naturally, he is loving Stimac's possession-based football, building from the back with neat passes and smooth transition to attacking.
Brand of play
"In modern football, it's all about keeping the ball and making the opponent run and get them tired. I, personally, and the whole team is liking the brand of football which we are playing," said the current emerging player of the year for both the AIFF and the ISL.
Not surprisingly, the youngster wants to mould himself like Argentinian maestro, Lionel Messi.
Qatar plan
Asked about Stimac's game plan against Qatar, he said, "The coach has taught us to be realistic and know the opponents minutely. He wanted us to focus on our defensive structure without forgetting to attack."
With India set to play Oman away in November and Qatar at home in March, they can certainly expect more from Sahal.