India Football Great CHHETRI comes out of a pension at the age of 40 for the Asian Cup | Football news

Sunil Chhetri returns to football at 40 – a year after retirement – to enhance hopes in the qualification of India Asia Cup.

Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri will return to the national team at the age of 40 in the unexpected turn of his decision to lower his boots last year.

Former captain, fourth tallest male international goalkeeper of all time, played his last match for India in June 2024 In qualifying for the World Cup.

CHHETRA said last year that his “instinct” told him that the match against Kuwait should be his last and that he bowed to nearly 59,000 fans in Kalcuta.

But on Thursday, India’s head coach Manolo Marquez announced the return of an Indian player who was most satisfied with the March International Window.

India is in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and is now targeted on the Asian Cup in 2027.

“The Asian Cup qualifying for us is very crucial. Given the importance of the tournament and matches ahead, I spoke with Sunil Chhetr about the return to reinforcement of the national team,” Marquez said in a statement from the Football Federation All India.

“He agreed, and so we included him in the team.”

On March 19, India played friendly against the Maldives, preparing to qualify for the Asian Cup qualification against Bangladesha on March 25.

Football struggled to find their legs among 1.4 billion people of India, where Sport was dwarned by a long -time obsession of criskets in the country.

Former Fifa President Sepp Blatter once called India “football giant”.

CHHETRA is a sports icon in a crice Mad India.

The reduced striker, which is 1.7 meters tall (5ft 7 inches), made his debut against the fierce rivals of Pakistan in 2005 and scored the only goal in India.

Chhetri had two short but unsuccessful magic in Portugal and the United States, but spent most of his career in India.

In 2009, he offered him a contract of London’s Queens Park Rangers club, in the second level of England, but could not get a work permit.