When Sunil Chhetri’s errant volley went over the crossbar in the 96th minute of extra time, the entire Sree Kanteerava, with 19,640 fans engulfed in Indian blues, sighed in unison. Playing in the stadium he called ‘home’ for over a decade, running over blades of grass that kissed his shoes a million times, most days, even with a mask over his eyes. Regardless, one would expect the talisman to increase those chances at will.
What do we know so far?
Chhetri’s brilliant runs and Lallianzuala Chhangte’s dazzling footwork could translate into the desired end product for the Blue Tigers. Ominous clouds of anguish surrounded the stadium as challenging Lebanon in the SAFF Championship semi-finals became increasingly difficult.
These were drawn that India had often missed before or made minimal bets on Chhetri’s talent to shine. Already on his way to scoring five tournament goals, the 38-year-old has used up his magic dust. But another man at the other end of the court had a little extra powder to rub on his gloves before kickoff, or so it seemed.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has also been a reliable performer since he broke into the national team’s starting lineup. Caught between the posts for 90 minutes, he often remains out of the limelight like most goalkeepers. But we already know tonight was a little different. From the first whistle, Alexandre Ilic’s Lebanese team, a strong quarterback, warned the hosts that they were there for revenge.
What did Gurpreet Singh Sandhu say about this?
This wasn’t the end since the presence of 6ft. 6′ Gurpreet pressed between the posts, and with every successful Indian penalty, it was enough for Khaleel Badar to send the ball over the bar, similar to what Riyad Mahrez did against Liverpool in 2018. “Experience helps, physicality helps; if I were 5ft 4, I definitely wouldn’t have saved that penalty,” the Indian keeper said after the match.
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Staying strong and backing up his skills were key elements behind the winning defense. “My job in a situation like that is to make sure that the person shooting feels like it’s not going to be easy for them to beat me,” Gurpreet said, explaining his thought process during the tiebreaker.
“I am lucky to have such good penalty takers in our team, and I get to train against them. So when an opportunity like this arises, you can’t save them all, but it helps you know what the penalty taker thinks.
On the other hand, Lebanon made a tactical change just before the shooting, but the move was to no avail. “The decision was made before the match as Ali performed well. It’s okay; sometimes it doesn’t work,” he said.
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