FIFA unveils series on Sunil Chhetri, promises a 'definitive story' of Indian legend

India has not competed in FIFA World Cup so far but Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri is already a legendary figure in the sport. The skipper of the India men's football team currently stands third in the list of all-time active goal scorers behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 37-year-old Chettri has played 131 matches for the national team and has scored 84 goals. He is six behind Argentina's Lionel Messi (90 goals) on the list. Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 117 goals.  To honour the India football team skipper's legacy, FIFA  has come out with a three-episode series on its official website.

Sunil Chettri receives major honour from FIFA 

The three-part series is named ‘Captain Fantastic’ and is available on FIFA+. The first episode of the series travels back to Chhetri’s early days as India’s talismanic captain. This saga uncovers unseen tales of the captain, from his precocious pre-teen anguish to the early sparks of his romance with his future wife all leading up to his India debut at the age of 20. The second episode of the series follows Chhetri beginning to excel for the national team and gradually establishing himself as a mainstay. The third episode shows Chhetri achieving the pinnacle of both his professional and personal life.

Sunil Chettri fails to score as India loses to Vietnam

Sunil Chettri failed to add goals to his tally after Team India was given a reality check by Vietnam on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers were handed a 0-3 drubbing in the second and final match of the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament. India had opened the campaign with 1-1 draw against Singapore before being handed a drubbing by the highest ranked opponent.

Phan Van Duc found the back of the net in the 10th minute following a miscommunication between goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and central defender Sandesh Jhingan. Despite Vietnam's dominance, India had their own chances which it failed to take advantage of.  In the 26th minute, Akash Mishra sent a superb pass to Ashique Kuruniyan, who hit a volley which beat the goalie but went inches wide off the Vietnam far post. The second chance came just before half-time when Mishra chipped the ball for Chhetri, who watched his header towards the far post, miss the goal by a whisker.

The second goal from Vietnam came four minutes after resumption as Nguyen Van Toan won an aerial duel with Anwar Ali and then beat Gurpreet with a shot. Vietnam scored their third when Van Quyet was gifted the ball from a headed clearance inside the Indian box and he curled it past Gurpreet to punish the visitors.