The Indian national team is again gearing up to face Qatar in the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The last time when both teams clashed it was India who came up with a shocking result to hold the Asian Champions to a 0-0 draw.
Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez Bas was awestruck at the full time whistle and hailed the mentality of the team and also lauded Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who was exceptional on the night against the Maroons.
“Kudos to the Indian national team and the goalkeeper who did not allow us to get the three points,” he commented.
Gurpreet was indeed brilliant on that night as he stopped everything that came his way. He used his reflexes to great effect and kept out some sensational shots from the Qatari players.
Qatar had 11 shots on target but India still earned a point from that game and a big credit goes to the Indian defence and their custodian.
Reminiscing that match Gurpreet shared in a recent interview how big it was for Indian football. He also highlighted how paying without Sunil Chhetri also created a huge void in their team.
“To take the pitch without Chhetri bhai was always going to be a daunting task, never mind who the opposition was. But we didn’t let that hurt us. Were we nervous? Maybe. Did we hold our nerves? Yes. Like I said, it wasn’t so much the result than it was the performance that we have to be proud about,” stated the Bengaluru FC custodian to Goal.
The 29-year-old pointed out how the Blue Tigers showed great resilience to match the intensity with the Qataris. He lauded the courage that the entire team showed on that day.
“When you look at the result, it was a 0-0 draw. But it meant so much more than just that, and that was down to the way we turned up for the fight. On paper, this was never a battle of equals but through the course of the game, we matched their superiority with the courage of our own,” he explained.
Things this time are more or less the same for both sides just like the last time they took the field. The Indian national team has not played any competitive fixture for the last two months. The difference is quality is still there. But just like last, there will be a lot of expectation from the Indian team.
Top teams have the ability to punish you at the slightest slip-up, and that’s what makes them top teams. They know how to capitalise when the narrowest of openings show. They take their chances, and once they are on song, they become very difficult to contain,” he opined.
