Sunil Chhetri confirms the end of his India career after Asian Cup Qualifiers exit
Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri has confirmed that his international career has come to an end following India’s exit from the AFC Asian Cup 2027 final round qualifiers. The 41-year-old striker, who briefly came out of retirement earlier this year, said he has now drawn the curtain on his long and storied national team journey. Chhetri, India’s all-time top scorer, had initially retired from international football in June 2024 after a memorable farewell match at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium. However, he was persuaded to return a year later by then-head coach Manolo Marquez to bolster India’s campaign in the Asian Cup qualifiers. With India now out of contention for the continental tournament, Chhetri said it felt like the right moment to step away for good. “It was easy telling Khalid Jamil, sir, about my decision,” Chhetri told Times of India. “When I joined the national team, I had only one idea in my head: to be as helpful as possible for the qualifiers. If there were no qualifiers, I probably wouldn’t have come back. Once …
