Sunil Chhetri says he's 'a little jealous' as India prepare to face Brazil and urges unity
Sunil Chhetri said on the sidelines of the Football Players' Association of India's Indian Football Awards 2026 in Kolkata on August 30, 2026, that he will watch India’s upcoming match against Brazil feeling "a little jealous" and urged stakeholders across the sport to share responsibility rather than point fingers. He made the remarks while reflecting on the state of Indian football and the opportunities available to the current squad.
Chhetri, speaking as a former India captain, said he never had the chance to face Brazil during his career and recalled his long playing tenure in a single quote: “I feel a little jealous as a spectator. In my 24-26 years as a professional and nearly 20 years with the national team, I never got an opportunity like this,” Chhetri said on sidelines of the Football Players' Association of India's Indian Football Awards 2026 in Kolkata. The 42-year-old backed the present group of players to make the most of the fixtures, adding: “This is their time. There are so many talented youngsters in the team. Everyone gets their opportunity; just like I got mine 20 years ago.”
On his own playing future Chhetri said he had returned to training but dismissed any immediate plans to reverse his international retirement, joking about his fitness: “I just trained for 20 minutes. I'm around 42 now, I can barely run properly and I'm struggling,” he said. He framed his recent activity as training rather than a comeback attempt.
When asked about squad selection and omissions, Chhetri declined to weigh in on choices made by the coaching staff, saying: “The coach has to answer that. I'm just a fan now, watching like everyone else,” he said. In a separate post captured on social media he added: "I am really happy and a little bit jealous that the boys are going to play against Brazil, Uruguay and Panama."
Chhetri placed his remarks in the context of broader challenges facing Indian football, noting the national team has slipped to 138th in the FIFA rankings and pointing to uncertainty around the domestic calendar following the end of the Indian Super League's previous commercial management contract. He also referenced financial strain at club level and said that players have faced uncertainty about their immediate futures.
He called for collective responsibility across governing bodies, players, coaches and the media, arguing that the sport could not be improved by blame alone and urging patience: “The Indian football graph, for as many years as I've played, has always been like this. We're probably in a phase where things are not going very well, because of what we've done with the national team, what we've done in the league, etcetera. But we all have to be hopeful,” he said. He added: “At the end of the day, it's going to be fine. It takes time. Looking at all your faces, we all want things to be fine as soon as possible. It will be. I'm always hopeful. Things might be a little bit 'kharab' (bad), but things are going to be fine.”
Chhetri said accountability must extend to players as well and refused to single out one group for blame: “I was also a part of the national team. And why has the ranking gone down? It's because of the way we have played, the games that we should have won but lost. That is the reason why we are where we are. As players, we take responsibility. I took it when I was there,” he said. He added: “I'm pretty sure the players who are playing right now will take responsibility. But if this country is going to a good place, it has to be all of us. Every one of us has to be equally responsible,” he said. “We shouldn't blame each other, saying that this player is bad, the coach is bad, the AIFF is bad.”
India are scheduled to play Brazil in Kolkata on October 3, followed by a match against Uruguay three days later on October 6; Chhetri framed those fixtures as opportunities for the current squad while urging dialogue and collective action to address the problems he outlined. He said stakeholders must ask hard questions while remaining constructive: “So, be a little bit hopeful. We have to ask the right questions, of course. There are a lot of things that we need to improve,” he said.