The Indian Football Team has been on a roll in the Asian Cup qualifications. Not only they have qualified for the 2019 edition of the cup but have done it in style. They now seek to remain unbeaten and remain on the top of the table. Despite this, defender Sandesh Jhingan believes that this is just the first step. Additionally, there are a whole lot of things to do for this side to taste success. Nevertheless, here’s a quick look at the national team’s performance so far.
Formidable performance by the Indian Football Team
India is the part of Group A along with Kyrgyzstan, Macau, and Myanmar. For the Blue Tigers, it all started with a 1-0 win over Myanmar in March early this year. Following June saw the hosts getting the better of Kyrgyzstan by the same margin. Finally, it was a back to back win for India over Macau (2-0 and 4-1) that sailed them to the AFC Asia Cup berth. In the recent match-up on 14th November, Myanmar held team India to a 2-2 draw.
Captain Sunil Chhetri has led the team by example, scoring 4 goals in 5 matches.
Star defender Jhingan had more to say –
This is the first step which we have achieved because we will travel to UAE not just to participate. Rather, we need to make it to the next round for which, I reiterate, we need to work harder.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu applauded the entire squad for their direct entry to the 2019 Cup. Stating that sealing the Asian Cup berth was a priority for him. Further, he added –
Our good run cannot be attributed to just the back four or the goalkeeper or the midfielders or the strikers. The whole team deserves the credits including the bench. In all of our games, we have defended together as a team and have stayed patient for our breakthroughs.