Tongue lashing from coach at half-time was a wake-up call: Sunil Chhetri

The tongue lashing that the national menrsquos football team got from head coach Igor Stimac at half time was the wakecup call India needed to defeat Lebanon and win the Intercontinental Cup said captain Sunil ChhetriThe Indian team registered a 20 victory over Lebanon to win their second Intercontinental Cup title on Sunday having won the first one in 2018India failed to break Lebanons defence in the first half before Chhetris 87th international goal and Lallianzuala Chhangtes strike to help the hosts lift the titleWe got some tongue lashing from the boss at half time We were nowhere close to where we were in the last game It was the wakeup call that we needed said ChhetriA lot of words were spoken some of which I cant repeat here But the main thing is that we knew we had it in our tanks and at the end of the day we have no regrets Of course its easier now to say this at 20 but we are happy with the winChhetri was impressed with Indias performance in the tournament and termed the victory sweetWe could not win the last time in the Hero Intercontinental Cup but this win was sweet It was not easy but we were very happy especially to keep the clean sheetsrdquo he saidHead coach Stimac admitted that he was not pleased with his teams performance against Lebanon in the first 45 minutesEvery game is important every win is important especially clean sheets so I am very happy But I can tell you that I was not at all happy at half time We played well in the first 10 minutes and then we disappeared the Croatian saidWe should not have allowed them Lebanon to control the game for 20 minutes like that Its best I dont mention what was said at half time but it worked The reaction from the boys in the second half was brilliant This is the India I like to seeStimac said that the team needs to work on several areas ahead of the AFC Asian Cup to be hosted by Qatar from January 12 to February 10 next yearIndia are clubbed in a strong Group B alongside Australia Uzbekistan and SyriaTheres plenty of work for us ahead of the AFC Asian Cup We need to understand better positioning timing of runs when to play on the ground and when not the coach saidLebanon had 78 good transitions That cannot happen against Australia or Uzbekistan Its not important how we play today its important how we play in January in the Asian CupIndia have played six matches so far in 2023 and kept clean sheets in all of them And attacking winger Chhangte believes a strong defensive line is the key to Indias success in recent matchesIt feels great to help the team win a trophy The main reason we won though is that our defenders are just so good Their solidity at the back gives us more freedom up front said ChhangteWe were up against a very good side tonight Sunday but we approached the second half with a different mentality and that did the trickIndia centreback Sandesh Jhingan agreed with ChhangteIf we play like we did in the second half the sky is the limit For every team a clean sheet is a base upon which you build everything There were still some lapses and we could have done better but we need to work on them and lets see where that takes usWith PTI inputsAlso Read Intercontinental Cup India two good for Lebanon in final