‘A bit jealous’: Sunil Chhetri on India’s chance to play Brazil-Uruguay friendlies

NEW DELHI: Former India captain Sunil Chhetri has admitted he is “a little jealous” watching the current generation get the chance to face football giants Brazil and Uruguay, revealing that he never got such a chance during his long international career.India are scheduled to host five-time world champions Brazil on October 3 and Uruguay three days later at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The high-profile fixtures will give the young Indian team a rare opportunity to test themselves against two of South America’s biggest footballing nations.“I feel a bit jealous as a spectator. In my 24-26 years as a professional and almost 20 years with the national team, I never got such an opportunity,” Chhetri told the All India Football Federation (AIFF).The former striker, who retired from international football last year, urged current players to stay fit, compete with determination and seize opportunities. Despite being away from the national team squad, Chhetri said he still has faith in the team’s young talent.“This is their time. There are so many talented youngsters in the team. Everyone will get their opportunity, just like I got mine 20 years ago,” he said.

Chhetri backs coach, rules out return

Chhetri also refused to second-guess the coaching staff when asked about the decision to select and omit certain players, insisting that the coach is in the best position to assess the team’s requirements.“That’s for the coach to answer. Now I’m just a fan and I’m watching like everyone else,” he said.The 42-year-old, who recently returned to training, also humorously dismissed any immediate prospect of a return.“I just trained for 20 minutes. Now I’m about 42, I can barely run properly and I’m struggling,” he joked.The Brazil-Uruguay matches come at a difficult time for Indian football, with the team currently ranked 138th in the FIFA rankings and the home calendar in limbo. However, Chhetri called for optimism and collective responsibility rather than a blame game.“The graph of Indian football for so many years that I have played has always been like this. We are probably at a stage where things are not going very well because of what we have done with the national team, what we have done in the league, etc. But we all have to hope,” he said on the sidelines of the 2026 Indian Football Awards.“It will be alright at the end of the day. It takes time. Looking at all your faces, we all want everything to be alright as soon as possible. It will be. I always hope. Things might be a little ‘kharab’ (bad) but everything will be alright.”Chhetri also accepted that players have to take responsibility for team matches.“I was also part of the national team. And why did the ranking go down? It’s because of the way we played, the games we should have won but lost. That’s why we are where we are. We take responsibility as players. I took it when I was there,” he said.

Should Sunil Chhetri consider returning to the national team?

More than 3,000 users shared the opinion today

More than 5,000 users have already voted today

More than 3,000 users shared the opinion today

Share an opinion