Sunil Chhetri lauds the self-belief of Indian youngsters after iconic victory against Afghanistan

Sunil Chhetri's stunning free-kick in the 86th minute could've won India the game on any other day. But on Saturday, it didn't. Afghanistan equalized two minutes later from a corner situation. Fans at the roaring Salt Lake Stadium were stunned.

But unlike anything we have seen in the recent past, the Blue Tigers roared back and conquered the three points through an injury-time winner from Sahal Abdul Samad.

Speaking of the topsy-turvy end to the game, the Indian skipper, during a media interaction after the game, said:

"After Afghanistan equalized, I was a little bit tense, thought we might have to share the points. But this team! The whole move by Udanta, Brandon, Ashique, and finally Sahal, was incredible."

The 37-year-old underlined that the young crop of Indian players are fearless in their approach, although they aren't at the highest level.

"These players don't fear anyone. They have a lot of self-belief right from Gurpreet and Sandesh, who are the team leaders. It translates to the entire team. They are still not great players but they are not scared."

---

"The most attractive role is mine, that's why people talk about it" - Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri

The Blue Tigers were matched expertly by the Lions of Khorasan almost throughout the entirety of the game. But in the 85th minute, Ashique Kuruniyan was brought down just outside the Afghanistan box. Sunil Chhetri stepped up to take the resulting freekick and beat the diving goalkeeper with a curling effort.

However, Afghanistan equalized two minutes later. But Sahal Abdul Samad turned the tie on its head with a late injury-time winner. Asked about his own performance against the Afghans, Sunil Chhetri stated:

"I have a small role. Everyone has their own role in the team. It's just that the most attractive role is mine, that's why people talk about it. Otherwise, we are all equally important. Roshan, Jeakson, and Akash were outstanding. Sandesh and Gurpreet were solid. Ashique ran his socks off and Udanta came and showed his maturity. So, everyone has a role and everyone delivered."

A lot of the hunger the Indian players showed on the pitch was derived from the fans rallying them on from the stands. The turnout was seemingly higher than the previous match against Cambodia.

Earlier, Chhetri had called for the fans to join the party on Saturday night and the Indian football faithful delivered an electric atmosphere.

"It felt like the old days of the East Bengal-Mohun Bagan derby. I hope the fans got their money's worth, got their time's worth and hope they enjoyed the game."