RTÉ GAA Podcast: Whelan & McConville preview the weekend's qualifiers
Rory O'Neill is joined by Ciaran Whelan, Oisin McConville and Sunday Times GAA correspondent Michael Foley to preview the weekend's All-Ireland SFC qualifiers.
Qualifiers Sport News
"Need To Start Learning To Play Without" Sunil Chhetri: India Coach Igor Stimac After Star Striker's Brace In Asian Cup Qualifiers
Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac wants his attacking players to start learning to play without talisman Sunil Chhetri, and score some goals too. At 37, Chhetri is at the fag end of his career, but India still needed him to score the two goals and start their Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign with a win over Cambodia in Kolkata on Wednesday. Stimac said it's high time that players such as Udanta Singh, Manvir Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Sahal Abdul Samad and Liston Colaco start scoring. "It's again Sunil. Others tried to get it but not finding a way. So I expect goals from Liston, Manvir, Udanta, Aashique, Sahal. They all need to start scoring. We need to start learning... The boys need to start learning to play without Sunil -- simple as that," Stimac said after the match.
Sunil Chhetri Brace Sinks Cambodia as India Begin Asian Cup Qualifiers With Win
Sunil Chhetri was once again the man of the moment as he struck a brace to inspire India to a 2-0 win over Cambodia in their opening match of the Asian Cup qualifying final round match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday. The Igor Stimac's side were far from their best and failed to make use of their better possession against a weak side but the 37-year-old returned Chhetri from an injury layoff to score on either side of the break (13th and 59th minute). The double strike brought him back to the third place in the list of highest scorers among active footballers in the world. With 82 goals from 127 matches, Chhetri now sits behind Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (117) and Argentine virtuoso Lionel Messi (86).
Sunil Chhetri brace sinks Cambodia as Indian team begins Asian Cup qualifiers campaign with a win
Sunil Chhetri was once again the man of the moment as he struck a brace to inspire India to a 2-0 win over Cambodia in their opening match of the Asian Cup qualifying final round match at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Wednesday. Igor Stimac's side were far from their best and failed to make use of their better possession against a weak side but the 37-year-old returned Chhetri from an injury layoff to score on either side of the break (13th and 59th minute). The double strike brought him back to the third place in the list of highest scorers among active footballers in the world. With 82 goals from 127 matches, Chhetri now sits behind Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (117) and Argentine virtuoso Lionel Messi (86). Following a tense start that saw their star centre-back Sandesh Jhingan earn a third minute yellow card for arguing with the referee, Chhetri settled the nerves converting a 14th minute penalty in a calm-headed way.
Sahal Abdul Samad eyes piece of history with India at AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers
As the national team begins their third round of qualification for the continental showpiece against Cambodia on Wednesday, 25-year-old Sahal wants to do for football what fellow Keralites HS Prannoy and Arjun MR did for badminton when they helped India win the prestigious Thomas Cup last month. “To watch that Thomas Cup win was an inspirational moment for me as an Indian. We are really happy for them,” Sahal said.
Asian Cup Qualifiers: Sunil Chhetri-led India Ready For 171st Ranked Cambodia
Skipper Sunil Chhetri will get a chance to bolster his tally of 80 international goals as the Indian team gears up to steamroll 171st ranked Cambodia on Wednesday in its bid to make a fifth appearance in AFC Cup tournament proper. Cristiano Ronaldo (117 goals from 188 games), Lionel Messi (86 from 162 games) have been on a scoring spree and no wonder at his level, the Indian talisman would like to ride the roughshod over Cambodia, Afghanistan (150th) and Hong Kong (147th). While no one is comparing the international levels at which they operate, briefly surpassing Lionel Messi won't be a bad feeling for the 37-year-old.
Two football qualifiers live on RTÉ2 on Sunday
RTE Sport will broadcast a double-header of All-Ireland Football Championship qualifiers this Sunday.
Asian Cup Qualifiers: Sunil Chhetri-led India look to dominate 171st-ranked Cambodia
Sunil Chhetri will get a chance to bolster his tally of 80 international goals as the Indian team gears up to face 171st-ranked Cambodia on Wednesday in its bid to make a fifth appearance in AFC Cup tournament proper. Cristiano Ronaldo (117 goals from 188 games), Lionel Messi (86 from 162 games) have been on a scoring spree and no wonder at his level, the Indian talisman would like to ride the roughshod over Cambodia, Afghanistan (150th) and Hong Kong (147th). While no one is comparing the international levels at which they operate, briefly surpassing Lionel Messi won't be a bad feeling for the 37-year-old. With the next Asian Cup slated in late 2023 or early 2024 after the pull-out of China, Chhetri, who will complete 17 years in international football, might see this tournament as the 'final frontier' in his illustrious career. "I want to qualify. If I'm not there, my country will be there. So either I'll be having a beer and watching Udanta sprint, or you having a beer and I'll be sprinting there. But we want to be there," Chhetri made his intention clear ahead of his 126th International appearance.