Sahal Abdul Samad, Anwar Ali ecstatic and excited to about Indian football’s future as they march into the continental competition next year

The Indian football team created history when they qualified for the Asian Cup in successive editions for the first time in history. The Blue Tigers topped their group with three wins and conceded only a single goal to book their spot in the continental championship. This campaign showed how the team has evolved and though they are reliant on Sunil Chhetri, they still have some players who can step up when needed.

Sahal Abdul Samad is one of those guys who stepped up when all hope was gone in the game against Afghanistan but he combined with Ashique Kuruniyan and scored a late injury time winner to send the Kolkata crowd into raptures. It was a win when all hopes were lost and Chhetri was subbed out.

Apart from Sahal players like Manvir Singh, comeback hero Anwar Ali and Ishan Pandita also stepped up scoring goals against Hong Kong in their recent 4-0 demolition to end the campaign on a high.

“I am very happy scoring my first goal for the country. It was a team game and the credit goes to everyone involved,” said Anwar Ali with a smile who almost hung up his boots due to health issues.

With the Asian Cup scheduled for next year, Sahal believes that the upcoming domestic season in Indian football will be crucial. He feels that the preparation will start from the leagues, cup and the domestic fixtures as they aim to get better and produce better results in this Asia Cup. “As players, we all need game time. The longer the season is, the better a player gets. That gets you into the rhythm for football,” Sahal commented.

Speaking about scoring goals and delivering when the team needs him, the Kerala Blasters fan favourite added, “I am still young and I really look forward to being a part of Indian football’s golden era now. I am really happy about how we have been approaching the matches.”

Former India international Ishfaq Ahmed who is currently Kerala Blasters assistant coach also highlighted how the youngsters are the future. He shared how young players stepping up to important roles is the biggest takeaway from the qualifiers campaign. “When you see the likes of Jeakson (Singh), Akash (Mishra), Roshan (Singh) stepping their game up after the team management put their faith on them to start ahead of other experienced players, it shows how the youngsters have now formed the core of the national team. Even Sunil (Chhetri) was jumping in the dugout once Ishan (Pandita) scored the final goal against Hong Kong. That shows the team spirit this lot currently have,” Ishfaq shared his thoughts in one of the Twitter spaces handled by the ISL.