We have been miserable away from home, says Sunil Chhetri

Coming September, India would have to play two tricky fixtures against Oman in their backyard before travelling to Qatar. With the other two sides being Afghanistan and Bangladesh, these would easily be the Blue Tigers’ toughest fixtures and Chhetri has stressed that spending almost a month in the national camp would help massively.

“We have got the two toughest games at the start and I hope we use it to our advantage. Qatar away (September 10) is one of the most difficult games in this campaign. So, I hope we do well against Oman at home (in Guwahati on September 5), that nobody gets injured and we can carry the momentum of that game into Qatar,” says Chhetri, reported HT.

“The fact that we will spend 20-21 days together (from when the camp starts to the game against Qatar) will help. We have been miserable away, so that time together will probably be a good thing,” he added.

The skipper also shed light on how India would adapt to opponents’ gameplay. “You will see us trying to keep the ball a lot more against Oman, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but you may not see us doing that against Qatar,” he revealed.

Comparing India’s previous side with the current one, Chhetri explained how the side has improved after a tough phase of transition and Stimac has identified some very significant players who could take the side forward.

“We are a better team now. Then, we were a team in transition. Gurpreet was a young player then. Those young boys are men now who can keep their place in the team. For instance, Udanta (Singh) is a very important part of the team now. And we have a great leader in (Igor) Stimac,” he said.

Stimac as a coach has always encouraged players asking for the ball and passing forward and Chhetri has been of the opinion that the similar nature of football in the ISL has been helping the players to gel in fast.

“The Spanish coach at East Bengal wants to play from behind; Chennai City too,” Chhetri says. “For me, Udanta, Gurpreet (all from Bengaluru FC), it is nothing different. For Mandar (FC Goa) it isn’t different. Vinit (Rai) has told me that even Delhi Dynamos did it last year. We all do a lot of keeping the ball and five-against-two rondos (a drill where five players try to pass the ball and two try to intercept) at training,” he added

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