Mission Asian qualification begins for Blue Tigers in Shillong

Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], March 15 (ANI): The Indian senior men's team arrived in Shillong on Friday, March 14, ahead of their first match of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers against Bangladesh (March 25). In preparation for that, the Blue Tigers will face Maldives in a friendly on March 19, which is set to be a historic occasion as the Meghalaya capital will witness the Indian men's team in action for the first time, according to the AIFF Media Team.
On their way to the team hotel, Manolo Marquez and his men were greeted by large posters and advertisement boards in various parts of Shillong. The least surprising element of it was the return of Sunil Chhetri in the middle of all those posters. There will be debuts of sorts - Chhetri's 'second debut' for the country, while Meghalaya prepares to make its international debut.
Already on a high after hosting the Indian Super League (ISL) for the first time this season, the arrival of the Indian contingent in the city has skyrocketed that buzz to the next level. The tickets for India's matches against Maldives and Bangladesh went on sale on Friday.
Defender Sandesh Jhingan said, "It's always a good feeling to be back in the national camp. As a nation, we'll be playing in Shillong for the first time, and that's always an exciting prospect, especially since Meghalaya is a state that has a vibrant culture of football. We are eagerly looking forward to playing here," as quoted from the AIFF Media Team.
"Our main aim is to get the result in the Bangladesh match, as that would give us a good start in the Asian Cup Qualifiers, and I think the 10-day training ahead of that, along with the friendly against Maldives will greatly help us prepare for it. Our target is two clean sheet victories," said the 31-year-old, who earned eight clean sheets with FC Goa in the ISL this season.
The Indian squad held a 45-minute gym session on Saturday morning and will have their first on-pitch training at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the match venue, in the evening.
Regarding the return of Chhetri to the national team, head coach Manolo Marquez said, "Sunil is the Indian top-scorer in the ISL, with practically double goals than the next player, who is Brison. After that are Subhasish, Irfan, Manvir.. all of them are here with us in the national team. We need players who score goals. In my four matches so far, we have only scored two goals - one of them from a set-piece. At this moment, the most important thing is to get results. Nothing else matters."
With 12 goals, this has been Chhetri's highest-scoring season in the ISL. Those are incredible numbers, especially because he turned 40 in August last year. He has scored more goals in 2024-25 than the previous two ISL seasons combined.
"Because it was a special situation, I spoke with the AIFF and Bengaluru FC before I called him. I spoke with Sunil and explained to him what I wanted from him. It doesn't matter if he's 40. The national team needs players who are in good form," said Marquez. (ANI)