Sunil Chhetri could not control his tears at the end of the India vs Kuwait FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match in Kolkata on Thursday, as he was given a guard of honour by his teammates. During the lap of honour after the match, chants of “Sunil, Sunil” echoed at the ground. Chhetri, 39, played his final match for India, ending a remarkable 19-year career during which he made a record 151 appearances and scored 94 goals.
However, on Thursday, India played out a goalless draw against Kuwait that further dampens the Blue Tigers’ chances of qualifying for the third round. India now have five points from as many matches.
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Chhetri finishes as the fourth highest goal-scorer in international football. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (128), Iran’s Ali Daei (108) and Argentina’s World Cup winner Lionel Messi (106) are all ahead of Chhetri as far as top goal-scorers in international football us concerned.
A total of 58,921 people were in attendance at the Salt Lake Stadium to witness the match, but were left disappointed after not seeing their star man score in India colours one final time. Having said that, Kuwait had made early inroads and showed aggressive and attacking intent in the first half to trouble the Indian defenders. The Blue Tigers, on the other hand, struggled to create chances.
It was on 12 June, 2005 when Chhetri had made his senior India debut in a game against Pakistan in Quetta, where he scored in a 1-1 draw against their arch-rivals.
The draw means India not only have to beat Qatar in Doha on 11 June, but also other results have to go in their way. Qatar have to beat Afghanistan, and hope Afghanistan and Kuwait play out a draw, which would mean a point might just be enough for India to progress.
