Sunil Chhetri: India’s Messi seeks to sign off with a World Cup milestone

There is a debate about why India did not take their place at the 1950 World Cup. The longstanding belief that Fifa’s refusal to allow the team to play barefoot has largely been booted into touch. It is more likely that the All India Football Federation did not consider the mammoth trip to Brazil to play in a fledgling competition as worth the time and expense, especially when they had to prepare for the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

There is no debate, however, over the status of Sunil Chhetri after he announced his retirement in May. If all goes according to plan on Thursday, his last act in an international career spanning 19 years will be to make history. If India beat Kuwait in the penultimate round of games in Group A then there is every chance they will progress to the final round of World Cup qualification for the first time since there was such a thing.

It will be the 39-year-old’s final game representing the country of 1.4 billion. In 150 appearances, the striker has scored 94 times. Of those still playing in the international arena, only Lionel Messi (106) and Cristiano Ronaldo (128) have managed more. Before Chhetri made his debut against Pakistan in 2005 India had last made the Asian Cup in 1984, but he has appeared at the 2011, 2019 and 2023 tournaments. Last year, they broke out of the hundreds in Fifa’s rankings and while it has not been a linear path in improvement there has been clear progress.

To be one of the final 18 would be proof of that. While Europe and much of the world look to the Euros in Germany, Asia is about to finish the second round of qualifying for 2026. Only the top two teams from the nine groups of four progress to the last stage. Once there, those 18 will battle it out for the increased automatic allocation of eight berths. Nobody is suggesting India will be gracing North American stadiums in two years, but just to be in the mix would be something special.

Chhetri has more than played his part in the journey as a go-to guy for goals but also leadership and a calm head. “He became a legend while still playing, and that’s something only a few can do,” says the national team’s coach, Igor Stimac. “He’s an inspiration to everyone, absolutely committed to the Indian jersey, which is something these youngsters need to follow.”

Club coaches have said similar things over the years. Chhetri won the I-League title in 2010 with Dempo, again three years later with Churchill Brothers and then twice with Bengaluru. He was still with the southerners when they joined the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in the subcontinent. He won that in 2019. Add seven Indian player of the year awards, four South Asian Championships and plenty of other accolades, then there is a lot to be proud of, even for a man as humble as Chhetri.

There were forays overseas but it never really happened for him. There was a 2009 trial with Coventry that led to a feeling back home he was not really given a chance. Later that year, he signed with QPR but could not get a work permit.

In 2010, came a move to Kansas City Wizards, where he played one competitive game in a qualifier for the US Open Cup. Then he faced Manchester United in a friendly and after he was allowed to join India at the Asian Cup he never really came back. In November 2011, there was a week-long trial with Rangers, where he later rued a lack of chances to train with the team and impress the coach, Ally McCoist.

His best foreign experience came in Portugal and a three-year deal signed with Sporting Lisbon in 2012. “After one week, I was told by the head coach: ‘You are not good enough, get lost to the B team’,” Chhetri said in 2020. “He was right. The pace was too fast for me. I gave it a shot for nine months, played five games, scoring zero goals.”

His greatest legacy will be exploits with India. Taking the team to the final stages of World Cup qualifiers would be a fine way to bow out. It is fitting his swansong will be at the Salt Lake Stadium in the historic football hotbed that is Kolkata.

When Chhetri started out, Kuwait would have been clear favourites – home and away. These days, India know they can win: after all they won in Kuwait City in November. One more victory puts them on the verge of the big boys’ club.

“We have been able to reach this stage [Fifa top 100 and Asia top 20] depending on the best that I and the team could achieve,” he says. “When we are aiming to break into the top‑10 teams in Asia, we will need players who are better than Sunil Chhetri.” That will not be easy.