Competing with Ronaldo and Messi for top scorer, Indian player attends Asian Cup at age 40

Coach Igor Stimac has announced the list of 26 Indian players going to Qatar to participate in the 2023 Asian Cup. Veteran striker Sunil Chhetri, born in 1984, continues to be a mainstay of this strongest team in South Asia.

Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri attends Asian Cup at the age of 40.

Although he is about to turn 40, Chhetri's presence in the Indian squad for the big continental football festival held in Qatar is not surprising to football fans. Not only because of his expertise and experience in the field, but also because this 40-year-old striker has a great influence behind the scenes of the national team.

Chhetri is considered... a valuable assistant to coach Igor Stimac and has become a legend of Indian football, as he is the player who has played and scored the most goals for the national team.

By the end of 2023, Chhetri had played a total of 145 matches for India and scored 93 goals. The Indian football star is among the top 3 active players who have scored the most goals for the national team, after Cristiano Ronaldo (128 goals in 205 matches) and Lionel Messi (106 goals, 180 matches). If we calculate the scoring efficiency between these three players, Chhetri is at the top with a rate of 0.64 goals/match (while Ronaldo has 0.62 goals/match and Messi has 0.59 goals/match).

This is Chhetri's third Asian Cup, after two seasons in 2011 and 2019. In the continental arena, the Bengaluru player scored 4 goals against opponents Bahrain, South Korea (2011) and Thailand (2019). There are still some teams that have not announced the official list of 26 players participating in the 2023 Asian Cup. However, if nothing changes, Chhetri will be the oldest player in the tournament in Qatar in mid-January, and it could also be the last Asian Cup for this "veteran".

Sunil Chhetri attended the 19th ASIAD held in Hangzhou (China) in September 2023.

"The heartbeat of a nation of 1.4 billion people was ready for what could be his last song on the big stage. Indian football has found its man and years later, he is still as good as a fine wine," the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) website paid tribute to Chhetri.

India are in a tough group at the 2023 Asian Cup with Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria, but that doesn't mean Chhetri won't have a chance to improve his national team's scoring record. There are five other players in the Indian squad who are over 30, including defender Rahul Bheke (34), vice-captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (32), goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, defender Sandesh Jhingan and Pritam Kotal (both 31).

Coach Stimac shared: “All the Indian players I have selected for the 2023 Asian Cup are of similar quality. We are a team, a family. But no matter how talented, without character, nothing can be achieved.”

List of 26 Indian players participating in Asian Cup 2023:

Goalkeepers (3): Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Vishal Kaith

Defenders (8): Akash Mishra, Lalchungnunga, Mehtab Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan and Subhasish Bose

Midfielders (9): Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia Ralte, Liston Colaco, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Singh Wangjam and Udanta Singh

Forwards (6): Ishan Pandita, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Sunil Chhetri and Vikram Partap Singh

HUU THANH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dua-top-ghi-ban-voi-ronaldo-va-messi-tuyen-thu-an-do-du-asian-cup-o-tuoi-40-post720966.html