Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri will play his last international match in the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kuwait on Thursday at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The 39-year-old forward announced last month about his plans to retire from international football in a heartwarming video message.
To commemorate his long and distinguished service to the Indian national football team, here is a look at his career:
Sunil Chhetri was born on August 3, 1984 in Secunderabad and began playing professionally with Mohun Bagan in 2002.
Chhetri played an important role in India's victories at the Nehru Cup in 2007, 2009, and 2012, as he showed the world his remarkable skills and contribution to the success of the team.
He helped India lift the trophy at the SAFF Championships in 2011, 2015, 2021, and 2023.
Chhetri led the team to a victory in the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 helping India qualify for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years.
The Arjuna awardee has scored 94 goals in 150 international matches in his 19-year-long career.
He is fourth on the list of highest goal scorers in international matches behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Iran's retired Ali Daei and Lionel Messi.
Real Madrid and Croatian midfielder Luka Modric shared a special message for the Indian captain ahead of his final outing today. The post was shared by Indian senior football team coach Igor Stimac in which Modric said, "Hi Sunil, I want to say congratulations and wish you all the best in your last game for the national team. Congratulations on your career. You are a legend of this game. To your teammates, I hope you make his last game memorable. Good luck and all the best from team Croatia."
Captain Sunil Chhetri has downplayed the hype around his final match for India and rather brought the focus back on the team's crucial World Cup Qualifier against Kuwait.
He said, "I think most of us have met already 20 days back and we have spoken about my last game. That's done. We are here only and only to speak about Kuwait and India and I'm trying really hard to not think about this game like this."
“I again request... it's not about me and my last name, it's about us and Kuwait. And inside me I'm fighting a small battle, please don't make it worse asking 'how are you feeling', again and again. Only you guys who are putting this question... We don't talk about it in the dressing room. We are still the same, we are still having fun. There is not a talk about the last game, we are done with it. We really need to win this game. Once we win this game, it gives us a great chance to go to the third round, which we have never done," he added.
