Indian football team – Bhartiyanews24x7

What’s life after Sunil Chhetri going to look like? How about a do-or-die World Cup qualifier against reigning Asian champions Qatar in Doha to find out?It’s a tall order for India head coach Igor Stimac and his team – win and the country qualifies for its first-ever World Cup Round 3 appearance. Draw, and the result of the match between Kuwait and Afghanistan dictates their fate. Lose, and crash out of the World Cup qualifiers, with very little as viable excuse as to what went wrong. The three scenarios have come about after some catastrophic, yet predictable, performances by the national team in these World Cup qualifiers. India would have felt disappointed at their AFC Asian Cup group, being lumped with Australia and Uzbekistan – two teams that consistently rank among Asia’s top-eigh...

An overcast sky over Salt Lake Stadium reflected the sullen mood in the Indian camp as their talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri laced up his boots for one final time in the World Cup qualifier against Kuwait – a match that ultimately ended in 0-0, with India’s dream of qualifying for the next round getting even harder to realise. As the departing skipper stepped onto the ground for warm-up an hour before the match, the steadily-filling stadium roared its approval. Chhetri, on his part, acknowledged the cheers before joining his teammates for the practice drills. Even though Chhetri had said the day before the match that of more significance was India’s chance to qualify for the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, something that hadn’t been done in the country’s history, the magn...

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FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Lacklustre India start life after Sunil Chhetri with must-win encounter at Asian champs Qatar with progression to Round 3 at stake

India send Sunil Chhetri into retirement with dull draw with Kuwait, which puts passage to next round of World Cup qualifiers in great danger