India vs Syria, AFC Asian Cup 2023: Sunil Chhetri Hopes To 'Fix Problem' In Do-Or-Die Encounter

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The Indian football team is in search of their first goal at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 and not finding the net in the last group match against Syria at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor on Tuesday (January 23) will end their run in Qatar. Captain Sunil Chhetri admits that it's a problem and will look to fix it.

While a draw or defeat against Syria will seal their fate, India would need at least a goal if they wish to win by the narrowest margin. Sunil Chhetri, who is the nation's leading goalscorer (93), has struggled to finish off his chances.

"India and I haven't scored and that's a problem," Sunil Chhetri said at the pre-match press conference. "We are working really hard to fix that. It's not that we go into a game thinking that we don't want to score. It is not easy, although we had chances more against Uzbekistan than we had against Australia."

The 39-year-old striker felt that India didn't struggle to create chances as was the case against Australia in the first match but against Uzbekistan, India couldn't make their chances count while their rivals were clinical.

"But, I can assure you, we haven't scored not because of want interest or will, but because it wasn't easy and also we did miss some chances. Even in the last Uzbekistan game, Rahul's header, Mahesh's shot, my deflection. The same chances they got and they went in. So, this is the margin that you have in a big tournament. Come Syria, I hope we can fix this problem and the next time I see you, you can say we did score for India," he added.

India's chances of qualification to the knockout stages are slim as a win may not ensure them safe passage due to India's goal difference quality of -5. They conceded three against Australia and two against Uzbekistan.