Nine months after announcing his retirement from international football, Sunil Chhetri has returned to the Indian national team. He will play in a friendly against Maldives tonight. And his further goal is to join the 100 club of Ronaldo, Messi, Ali Daei.
In June 2024, Sunil Chhetri said goodbye to the Indian national team after 19 years of dedication, leaving behind a legacy as the greatest scorer in the history of Indian football with 94 goals in 151 matches. According to statistics, Sunil Chhetri is the 4th best scorer in history at the national team level, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (135 goals), Lionel Messi (112), and Ali Daei (108). He is far ahead of active strikers such as Ali Mabkhout (89), Romelu Lukaku (85), Robert Lewandowski (84), and Neymar (79).
But nine months later, Sunil Chhetri has the chance to improve his scoring record. Head coach Manolo Marquez, who took over the team in July 2024, did not hesitate to recall Chhetri to take advantage of his experience and form in the effort to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup – the most prestigious tournament in the continent at the national team level.
In a press conference ahead of the friendly against Maldives tonight, coach Marquez affirmed: “Sunil will definitely play, whether as a starter or as a substitute. He is the top Indian scorer this season. For me, age does not matter, whether he is 20 or 40. The national team needs players who are in their best form to win.” This affirmation shows absolute faith in the ability of Chhetri, who has scored 12 goals in 24 matches in the 2024-25 ISL, becoming India’s top scorer and second in the tournament’s top scorer list.
The friendly match against Maldives tonight and the match against Bangladesh on March 25 are opportunities for Chhetri to increase his achievements, getting closer to the 100-goal mark – a feat that only a few players in the history of world football have achieved. If he plays the entire 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, with 6 matches against Bangladesh, Hong Kong, China and Singapore – not strong opponents – it is quite possible for Chhetri to reach the 100-goal mark.
Of course, the fact that Coach Marquez had to recall a foreign striker in his forties like Sunil Chhetri also exposed a sad reality of Indian football. This 126th ranked team in FIFA currently does not have a single player who has scored 10 goals for the national team (the highest is Manvir Singh with 7 goals). The national championship (ISL) is flooded with foreign strikers, and apart from Sunil Chhetri (12 goals for Bengaluru), no striker has scored 10 goals this season.
But for football fans in particular and Indian fans in general, watching Sunil Chhetri compete and conquer records is still something worth waiting for. Can he enter the “temple of 100” with superstars like Ronaldo, Messi, and Ali Daei?
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