Chhetri focused on team's performance over personal milestone

It was way back in 2005 that a 21-year-old Sunil Chhetri scored his first international goal against Pakistan in a friendly.

On Wednesday evening, at the Sree Kanteerava stadium here, the 38-year-old took that mark to 90 goals through a hat-trick against the same opponents at the SAFF Championship.

Playing in front of a huge crowd at his adopted home, Chhetri slotted in the opener in the 10th minute before successfully converting two penalties in the 16th and the 74th minutes. The feat put him in fourth position, behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (123), Iran's Ali Daei (109) and Argentina's Lionel Messi (103) as players with most international goals.

When asked about his personal milestone, the Indian skipper brushed the question aside to instead talk about the team’s overall performance and the matches to look forward to in the coming days.

“It feels good because we could score four and keep a clean sheet. I think in tournaments such numbers do matter,” he said.

Chhetri, however, refused to get carried away with the comfortable win in the opening match and wants the team to remain grounded.

“We can definitely improve on many things that I’m sure the coaching staff will tell us. Things are going to be tough from here on. But we are confident with the way we are playing. We will rectify our mistakes and be a better team,” added Chhetri.

Speaking about the support from the near capacity crowd and the immense love every time he takes to the field in Bengaluru - either for Bengaluru Football Club (BFC) or the national side - Chhetri had nothing but gratitude.

“Also, very happy to be back at the fortress. The atmosphere was amazing. And playing here, we always feel powerful.”

While goals have come in galore for him personally, the Indian team’s lackluster goal-scoring ability against lowly-ranked teams during their Intercontinental Cup win became the talking point recently. The home side managed a 2-0 win over Mongolia followed by a lone goal victory over minnows Vanuatu. Their last group match against Lebanon was a goalless draw before defeating the same opponents 2-0 in the final to lift the title.

“Scoring goals in an international match is never easy no matter who you are playing against or where you are playing. We did miss a lot of chances while creating some. There is a lot to improve as far as finishing is concerned. But I think we are on the right track.”