It was during the Inter-Continental Cup in Mumbai 2018, Chhetri made an emotional plea to the fans on social media ahead of their game against Kenya.
The following day, a packed Mumbai Football Arena (MFA) saw Chhetri and Co. defeat Kenya 3-0.
Back in football-mad Kolkata for their Asian Cup qualifier, Chhetri, who will complete 17 years of international football on June 12, says fans can make a “huge difference” at the Salt Lake stadium of a capacity of 70,000 seats.
With the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ fast approaching, our skipper @chetrisunil11 has a special me… https://t.co/R8t14zZfHV
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) 1654341565000
“I mean, I sincerely love you guys… With you guys behind us, it’s on a different level,” the star Indian striker said in his post on Team India’s Twitter account. soccer.
India will kick off their campaign in the final leg qualifier against Cambodia (Wednesday) before facing Afghanistan (June 11) and Hong Kong (June 14).
Tickets for all three matchdays are available on the www.bookmyshow.com portal and at ticket offices in stadiums and IFA offices “free of charge”.
“Let the three teams that are going to play against us, play against us plus you, because it will be a huge difference. So if you are free, please come. We will try to make it a good experience for you. guys,” he added.
It would be India’s first home games since October 2019, when a visiting low-ranked Bangladeshi side held them to a 1-1 draw at Salt Lake Stadium, which recorded an official attendance of 61 486 people.
“Last time when we played here, we played against Bangladesh, there were more than 50,000 of you in the stadium. I can’t tell you how happy we were…”
Apologizing for their result, Chhetri promised the Blue Tigers would make up for the disappointment last time out.
“We couldn’t get as good a result as the support you gave. Our apologies as we didn’t do well. But please come back this time. We will do our best to do our best.” he concluded.
India will be aiming to make it to the 24-team Asian Cup final for the second consecutive time and fifth overall.
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