WATCH: Sunil Chhetri calls for support from fans for Asian Cup 2019 game against UAE

Chettri's brace took India to a 4-1 win over Thailand
Chettri's brace took India to a 4-1 win over Thailand

Sunil Chhetri had a message for the Indian football fans asking them to come out in numbers to support his side in the AFC Asian Cup 2019. He said his side would be giving earnestly their best so as to not disappoint the fans.

He even thanked the fans for their continuous support without which the team wouldn't have been able to deliver the results which they did in 2018.

The Indian team, led by their skipper Sunil Chhetri, scripted history when they beat Thailand 4 - 1 in their first group game of the AFC Asian Cup. Chhetri scored a brace whereas the youngster Anirudh Thapa and Jeje scored a goal each.

Chhetri's brace took him past Lionel Messi in terms of the most goals scored by a player in the international arena.

ALSO READ: 'Feel honoured to have surpassed Messi'

Now, Chhetri has come out with a similar video like the one where was seen pleading fans to watch the team at the stadium during the 2018 Intercontinental Cup.

Watch what he said here:

A little about India's performance in the previous AFC Asian Cup

The Indian team had last featured in the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 where they were placed in Group C with Australia, South Korea, and Bahrain. The Indian side was hammered by their opponents in all the 3 games as they lost 4 - 0 to Australia, 5 - 2 to South Korea and 4 - 1 to Bahrain.

Australia went on to top the group on the basis of a superior goal difference to South Korea whereas India bowed out of the tournament.

India at the current AFC Asian Cup 2019

The Indian side is placed in Group A along with Bahrain, Thailand and the hosts UAE. The Indian team will next be playing the UAE on the 10th of January and their last group game will be against Bahrain on the 14th of January.

UAE and Bahrain had played out a draw in their first game leaving India as the current leaders of Group A. The Indians would be looking forward to continuing their dream run in this year's tournament and qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.

Quick Links

Edited by Aravind Suchindran