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Gurpreet promises for another fight against Qatar

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Ray Sportz News Desk: It was India’s fourth winless game in a row in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification after a 0-0 draw against Kuwait on Thursday evening in Kolkata, a result that diminished their hopes of progressing to the third round for the first time ever.

Head coach Igor Stimac made his dejection known after the match. “We’re obviously disappointed with the end result. It was tough as we expected. They opened the game much better, with much more confidence and competency in passing and moving. It took us some time to gear up to start passing the ball and moving into areas where we could create danger. And I will say that the general passing speed was the biggest struggle we had tonight. It was not good enough to break down Kuwait.

“Even in the situations when we put pressure on them with continuous attacks, there was no quality in the delivery to help them. We could see that Kuwait have lots of individual quality in their team,” said Stimac.

While the match was pretty even in terms of statistics – Kuwait slightly edging possession by 52 to 48, and India registering 15 shots to the visitors’ 13 – Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was the busier of the two goalkeepers, making four huge saves.

“Our best player of the night was Gurpreet, which is not a good sign,” said Stimac. “It’s fantastic for everyone in the team to have such a goalkeeper here. We never had any doubts about what he can do and how much he can help the team, which he did in a fabulous way tonight.”

And it wasn’t to be for Sunil Chhetri, who couldn’t depart the pitch of his last India game with three points. The legendary skipper now turns into another fan among millions as India travel to Doha to take on Qatar in their final Group A match on June 11. Afghanistan’s 0-0 draw with Qatar later on Thursday meant that India remained in the second spot with five points. Afghanistan are also on five, but trail on goal difference, while Kuwait are still bottom with four points. Should India beat Qatar and maintain their higher goal difference than Afghanistan, they will qualify for the next round. A draw will also be enough for the Blue Tigers in case Kuwait and Afghanistan’s clash in Kuwait City also ends all square.

“I feel really sorry for Sunil. He didn’t go with a very important win. But on the other hand, we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves because we’re still alive. So I need to do everything as a coach as I can in the next five days to create an environment of belief. It’s a very different challenge against the Asian champions. It’s a small hope but it’s still there, and we need to believe, go there and give it our best shot to try to win the game,” said Stimac.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu added, “We’ll prepare for it like any other game, but obviously this time we won’t have Sunil bhai with us, which is sad but we, as a nation, need to cope with that and move forward. We need to prepare in the best possible manner because any game is not lost before it’s played. We’ll go to Qatar to get all three points.”

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EXCLUSIVE: Secret behind Alaeddine Ajaraie’s success

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Sourav Mukherjee: Northeast United FC striker Aladdin Ajaraie already scored 11 goals and 4 assists in his 10 ISL matches. Aladdin Azarei is the only man whom North East United FC is dreaming of turning around. Northeast star Aladdin in give an exclusive interview with Ray Sportz ahead of the upcoming tough clash at home against Mohun Bagan SuperGiants.

Q: North East United FC is going to take on the table topper Mohunbagan. How much confidence to beat them in your home ground?
Aladdin: Mohun Bagan are a good team with a good coach and good players. But yes, we are playing at home and we love playing in front of our home fans. We are confident if we play our best football, we can get three points.

Q: Previously you have met Mohun Bagan two times & you scored in both matches. Do you feel more hungry when you face this team?*
Aladdin: For me, it’s about helping the team. If my goal/goals can help the team win, I am happy. I am equally hungry against every opposition.

Q: Last match you have lost against East Bengal. What went wrong & what you have learnt from that match?*
Aladdin: Like the coach said, we need to be more calm and we have to play our game and against Mohun Bagan, we will try and do the same.

Q: How are you enjoying the Journey with North East United FC?*
Aladdin: The journey with NorthEast United FC has been incredible so far. Winning the Durand Cup was a special moment which I will forever cherish. At the same time, people at the club – my teammates, coaches, all the staff, and the management – have all been incredible, working to improve every day. So, I am very happy.

Q: Which two or three teams do you think are mostly strong contenders of this ISL?*
Aladdin: ISL is a very competitive league and that’s why I wanted to join it. Every team is a strong team and anyone can beat anyone.

Q: We saw your celebration is like the popular character Luffy of the Japanese anime One Piece. What is the secret behind this?*
Aladdin: I don’t watch anime too much but I love this particular one. I liked the character of Luffy and that’s how I thought of doing this celebration. I started it only this season because that is how I want people to remember me and when I see our Young Highlanders celebrate like me, it gives me happiness.

Q: Now you have scored 11 goals from 10 matches. Are you looking for the highest goal scorer this season?*
Aladdin: I am happy that I have so far managed to help the team with 11 goals. It’s a long season and it’s too soon to talk about the golden boot. I am fully focused on my job of helping the team and without their help, I wouldn’t be able to score so many goals.

Q: What is your take on ISL & Indian football?*
Aladdin: The level of competition is very high in ISL with many quality players. When I compare it with Qatar, I feel that the ISL is better for me as a player because of the high volume of top players and that makes it a tough league.

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EXCLUSIVE: Jithin on his brilliant “Success”

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Sourav Mukherjee: Under the supervision of Juan Pedro Benali, Northeast United FC’s new speedster is Jithin MS. The Keralite winger joined Northeast United FC in 2022. Jithin told his success story in an exclusive interview with Ray Sportz.

Q: How confident are you to win the match against Mohun Bagan?
Jithin: We are confident. We will play in front of our own fans at home. Even though Mohun Bagan is a very strong team, we are optimistic about winning.

Q: How much is the coach’s contribution behind this success?
Jithin: The coach has a huge contribution behind this success. After last season, everyone has found the new Jithin. I have received a lot of support and motivation from the coach.

Q: How does it feel after getting a chance in the national team?
Jithin: Playing for the national team is a dream for all footballers. After hard work, my dream has come true. I hope I can do more for the country in the future. Now I just want to focus on practice and playing.

Q: Did winning the “Golden Ball” in the Durand Cup give me extra motivation?
Jithin: I don’t think about these things. For me, playing is everything. I want to improve every day.

Q: Jithin is now the new “speedster” of Northeast United FC. How does it feel?
Jithin: I enjoy playing for Northeast United FC. But there is no special feeling. The coach is trusting me, that is a big achievement.

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ISL 2024/25: “Second half changes makes the difference”, Panagiotis Dilmperis says at the post match press conference…

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Ray Sportz Web Desk: Punjab FC entered into the ISL last season after a brilliant performance in the I League. But they did not make their marks onto the very first season. But now in current season, Punjab FC have done brilliant job. At Friday, Punjab beat Mohammedan sporting club on 2-0 margin at home and climbed on the 3rd position of the Indian Super League points table with 18 points after playing 9 matches. Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis shares his team’s recent mood at the post match press conference.

Panagiotis Dilmperis second half changes makes the difference in the match. He said, “we did not play good in the first half. But Mohammedan SC did a little bit better than us at the first half. But the changes I made in the second half is just to avoid injuries of players. But I think now we are happy because we won the match at the end. We play different at the second half. They play very well and keep theirs patience. So that’s we able to win the match”.

Panagiotis Dilmperis also said about mohammedan sporting foreign players. He said, “Mohammedan have a player like Carlos Franka who makes the difference in the match at any time. But Mohammedan deploy all indian centre backs in the match. So that’s we also changes in our squad. But we did not able hold the ball and play. But I warned my all footballers and they understand this.” Punjab FC is already scored 16 goals where 12 goals are come into the second half. Panagiotis Dilmperis says, “This our football philosophy. We did not won a match at the first half. You have to be patient and have to follow your plan up to the end of the game.”

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