'Need to do better', India skipper Sunil Chhetri reflects on disappointing draw against Singapore

The Blue Tigers were guilty of missing several scoring opportunities.

Indian national football team captain Sunil Chhetri was unhappy with the team’s performance against Singapore in their opening tie of the Hung Thinh friendly tournament. Singapore held India to a 1-1 draw at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Hi Chi Minh City on Saturday. The Men in Blue were left ruing several missed chances. Singapore’s custodian Hassan Sunny also played a huge part in preventing a second goal, pulling off a series of stunning saves.

India will next face the higher-ranked Vietnam, a huge test for the Blue Tigers. Despite pre-tournament optimism voiced by coach Stimac and the players, the disappointing draw has halted the positive momentum. Chhetri cut a dejected figure at the post-match interview.

Improvements needed in defence and attack

Sunil Chhetri knows that the team under-delivered both in defence and attack and expects coach Igor Stimac to make some amends. “There are many things that we could have done better. We missed a lot of chances, and maybe we could have defended a little better. I'm sure the coach will have a talk with us about it. Without being too harsh on ourselves, there are a few things that we need to work on,” Chhetri said post the game.

Thoughts on next opponent Vietnam

The hosts are in formidable form and have been riding on a wave of good performances. Vietnam are constantly improving as a team and are now a very strong force to reckon with. Chhetri recognizes their opponents’ calibre and their improvement in the last five years.

“We have watched their [Vietnam’s] match against Singapore. They are really good, especially at home. They are one of the most improved sides in Asia in the last five years. We have to really go back to the drawing board and improve ourselves against Vietnam. We have to really work hard. It is not going to be the same (as Singapore),” the skipper added.

No excuses for the performance against Singapore

Sunil Chhetri did not want to get into any excuses for India’s off-colour start to the friendly tournament against the Lions. "No excuses from our end about the weather. We were here two days ago, and I must say that the weather is a little different here, but it's quite nice. The ground was great. A lot comes down to how we played, and we need to do better," said Chhetri.