‘AFC Cup will help Indian footballers evolve as players’
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 9
With India securing a place in the AFC Asian Cup, custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu today said the event presents an opportunity for the country’s footballers to learn and mature as players.
“The Asian Cup is a stage where you would want to play in your career simply because you get to play against the best in Asia, all of whom are very talented players. It’s the platform from where you can learn a lot to mature as a player,” said Sandhu, who is the first Indian to play in the UEFA Europa Cup.
“The last time in 2011 I was in the squad and it was a huge experience for me. Since then, qualifying for another edition of the AFC Asian Cup had been a priority for me,” the Mohali lad added.
He further said the national team had become stronger as a unit with every passing game and insisted that the biggest positive for the side was its consistency.
“I think we have become stronger as a unit with every passing game. The work rate has been exceptional and the biggest plus point stays that we have been consistent for the past 12 months. The results are ample proof of that,” said the lanky custodian.
Sandhu, meanwhile, credited the entire squad for qualifying in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the UAE.
“Our good run cannot be attributed to just the back four or the goalkeeper or the midfielders or the strikers. The whole team needs to be credited including the bench. In all of our games, we have defended together as a team and have stayed patient for our breakthroughs,” he said.
India had earlier secured a direct qualification to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1984 after crushing Macau 4-1 in their third qualifier match of Group A at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore.
India are placed in Group A, alongside Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Macau, and by winning the first four games in their group, India picked up an unassailable lead to qualify for the next year’s event in the UAE.
