Merdeka Cup a good opportunity for India to improve away record: Sunil Chhetri

Sunil Chhetri. Pic/AFP

India's ace marksman and football team captain Sunil Chhetri said the upcoming Merdeka Cup is a good opportunity for the Blue Tigers to improve their away record.

The Blue Tigers geared up for their match against Malaysia in the Merdeka Cup at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Chhetri, who joined the national team, was quoted by the ISL's official website as saying on Thursday, "It feels good to be back in the national team after winning the Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship. It will be different here, we are playing away from home, and we've heard of the hostile reception we could get on matchday."

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"But it's not common for us to get to play such matches away from home, and this will be a very good opportunity for us to better our away record. It's a good test, and we are all looking forward to it," the striker added.

The 39-year-old said the team is aware of the significance and history attached to the word Merdeka, but his attention is exclusively on the task at hand.

"I know our past teams have done well in the Merdeka, and the more recent ones have not done as well. It's an extremely important tournament for Malaysia, but we are only thinking about our first game right now. We need to focus on it and win the game, before thinking about other things," he said.

With almost two million people of Indian descent living there, Chhetri said he hoped that of the 87,000 spectators at the Bukit Jalil stadium, a sizable portion will be supporting the Blue Tigers.

"I've heard it would be a jam-packed stadium when we play, but I hope a few Indian fans are also there. Being Indians, we tend to get fans wherever we travel, so I hope all the Indian fans, whoever can afford the tickets, can make it to support us against Malaysia," Chhetri said.

The Tigers arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday, October 9, with a squad of 21 players, while defender Sandesh Jhingan and striker and captain Sunil Chhetri joined the team on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

The Blue Tigers squad of 23 for the Merdeka Tournament was announced earlier by the All India Football Federation.

"We have a squad of 23 here in Malaysia, but four of our players -- Anwar Ali, Subhasish Bose, Manvir Singh, and Brandon Fernandes -- are carrying injuries from their club engagements," head coach Igor Stimac said.

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