Sunil Chhetri, the captain of India’s squad, stated that he would love two South Asian teams to meet in the final of the SAFF Championship. The semifinals of the competition will put India against Lebanon, while Bangladesh will play against Kuwait.
“If we are being completely honest, we are considering our game. We have high hopes of making it to the championship game. “If you ask me for a choice, then I’m going to want Bangladesh in the final, solely because it’s a SAFF country,” the veteran striker stated during a pre-semifinal news conference in Bengaluru. The press conference was held before the semifinal.
“I have a lot of respect for Kuwait and Lebanon because they are top teams, but if I have a choice, we should qualify first, and then Bangladesh should qualify. The only reason for this is that we are SAFF nations, and this tournament is the SAFF Cup. There is no other reason.” It will be a success if at least two SAFF teams make it to the final.
The 38-year-old continued, “I am fairly certain that Bangladesh and India have a significant challenge ahead of them when they compete against Kuwait and Lebanon.”
A Bangladeshi journalist requested the victorious Indian captain to offer a motivating message for the Bangladeshi players prior to their match against Kuwait. The successful Indian captain responded in Bengali by asking the Bangladeshi journalist, “Dada, do you know how Bangladesh players treat me when I play against them?”
After that, he began speaking in English, asking, “Have you any idea? When we face each other, it is almost like a battle, and I don’t get any affection from the Bangladeshi players on the pitch. As a result, my message to them would not make any difference in the outcome of the match. However, since you asked, I will wish them the best of luck and hope that they do well in all of their games other than the one they play against us.