Anas Edathodika to Return to India for Family Emergency Ahead of World Cup Qualifiers4Photo© news18.com

Anas Edathodika to Return to India for Family Emergency Ahead of World Cup Qualifiers

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India captain Sunil Chhetri is confident yet a little concerned about his players’ ability to convert chances into goal ahead of their World Cup qualifier game against Afghanistan and Oman on November 14 and 19 respectively. India drew with Qatar 0-0 and Bangladesh 1-1, and Chhetri, reflecting on the game against B’desh, felt his side could have converted better.

“It is worrisome, but you must cut some slack. These boys are young and they’re trying their best. With time, they’ll excel,” Chhetri told Times of India. [Against Bangladesh, it was a huge opportunity. I am not being harsh, but I wish we could have converted those chances. It was a game where Bangladesh defended really well; but still, we managed to create lots of chances. Had we converted a few of them, we would’ve grabbed all three points. That’s the area (converting chances) where we should really work on.”

Afghanistan are below India in the FIFA rankings and although Chhetri’s men are outright favourites for the match, the India captain pointed out the game against Bangladesh as to how rankings barely matter in a tournament as crucial as this. Post Afghanistan, India face Oman, a side they beat recently, but Chhetri’s India isn’t looking too far down the road.