Chhetri pleads Bengaluru to back the Blues versus Guam

File Pic. Sunil Chhetri is India’s all time highest goalscorer

Sunil Chhetri has had a brilliant start to his ISL stint so far. Having netted 6 goals in as many matches for his franchise, the Indian captain has pretty much justified the money Ranbir Kapoor and others shelled out on him in the glittering auction earlier this year.

As we caught up with Sunil after Mumbai’s latest game against Delhi Dynamos, the diminutive playmaker seemed more focused about the national team’s next World Cup qualifier against Guam tomorrow.

As we know, after scraping past Nepal, the Indian team has had a horrid run so far. Five straight losses and a FIFA ranking of 172 stand testament to the struggles of the squad of the past few months.

Talking about the fixture thus, Sunil lamented the sorry state of affairs that the team finds itself in. “There are still 3 matches left and two of them are at home. We need to give it our all in these fixtures; if we cant force a win even now, it will be shambolic for the squad,” he said.

Asked about their away fixture with lowly continental counterparts, he added, “The loss in Guam was the worst of my playing career. It wasn't that they outplayed us or anything; just that we were way performed well below our potential and didn't even present a fight.

“We had gone in to that game on a high; having played well vs Oman, we thought and everyone believed we would ease past them (Guam) but that didn't happen.

“The flak that followed, in my opinion is justified.”

India currently sits bottom of its Group, having lost to every other team at least once. If they continue in similar vein, we might finish in the bottom 4 teams overall and be thrown out of contention for the AFC qualification places. That in Chhetri’s opinion would be a major setback.

“We really can’t afford to keep losing. While the last game vs Iran in Tehran would be massively difficult, the next match as well as the one vs Turkmenistan are ones which we can force a result out of,” he said.

Bengaluru will play host to the all important fixture tomorrow and as we have seen in the past, the crowd from the Garden City really gets behind the team. The national captain signed off with a message for the fans from there, “Please do come over guys, we need your support; I acknowledge that we haven't played well so far but we need to change that. Tomorrow you need to be our 12th man.”