Hong Kong: Indian legend Sunil Chhetri will say farewell to international football on Thursday while Palestine are on the brink of reaching the final stage of Asian World Cup qualifying for the first time. The 39-year-old skipper Chhetri has 94 goals in 150 appearances for India, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Iran's retired Ali Daei and Lionel Messi in the list of all-time international goal-scorers. India's most-capped player announced last month that Thursday's home qualifier against Kuwait in Kolkata will be his international swansong, and he will want to go out with a bang.
Igor Stimac's side lie second in their group, behind already qualified Qatar, and can take a large step towards the third and final qualifying round for 2026 with victory. With two games left and two nations to go through, the last qualifying berth from the group is wide open with India and Afghanistan level on four points and Kuwait on three. "I feel privileged to have had a career like this," Chhetri told The Economic Times.
"When I started playing football, all of this was unthinkable. "If I would have left for Europe when I was a 15-year-old, for example, I could have had a different kind of career," added Chhetri, who had a brief unsuccessful spell in Portugal more than a decade ago. "But when I now look back, I will not trade what I have got for anything in the world.
" In other Asian qualifying matches for 2026 on Thursday, Palestine need just a point against Lebanon in Doha to seal their place .
