Proud coach: Gurpreet’s stellar efficiency within the match and the penalties took Stimac’sIndia to the ultimate.| Photo Credit: Okay. MURALI KUMAR

Time and once more, gamers and coaches of the Indian soccer group have pressured that the Blue Tigers’ stellar run of type was right down to the collective and never the person.

But grand events invite grand performances, the place a sure participant goes that additional mile to face aside. Against Lebanon within the 2023 SAFF Championship semifinal, the night time belonged to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

The 31-year-old made 5 essential saves, one in all which got here within the penalty shootout, the place he thwarted the spot-kick from Lebanon skipper Hassan Maatouk. Four got here within the first half, together with a cease within the eighth minute to maintain out Zein Al Abdine Farran in a one-on-one scenario and one other to tip Maatouk over the bar from a freekick.

“Playing at home, at Kanteerava, in national team jersey is always special,” Gurpreet stated after the match. “Another magical night where the team showed resilience.”

On Saturday, Sandhu needed to take care of strain on a number of fronts. First, he shared the collective management duty with fellow seniors within the absence of coach Stimac. He additionally needed to marshal his defence with out the acquainted face of Sandesh Jhingan – with whom he shares glorious communication.

“We were shaky in some moments because we were missing Sandesh, but again, credit to Mehtab [Singh] and Anwar [Ali] for making sure we didn’t concede. This team is doing well, and the amount of work we have put in the last five to six weeks is showing. Not in technical or tactical terms, because that is something the coaches will decide. But the grit, the determination and the fight are something I am really proud of,” added Gurpreet.

Penalty shootouts in high-pressure knockout matches are tough for goalies, regardless of how skilled. A number of them maintain notes, based mostly on the taking pictures tendencies of opponent gamers. For Gurpreet, it largely boils right down to expertise and the work he places in throughout coaching.

“I am lucky that in our team we have such good penalty-takers and I get to train against them. It also helps me when opportunities like this [Lebanon shootout] come. You can’t save all [penalties], but it helps you to know what the penalty-taker is thinking.

“The No. 10 may try to trick you; maybe a centre-back or a centre-forward will decide to shoot one way. Experience helps; physicality helps. If I was 5’4”, I wouldn’t have been capable of save that [Maatouk’s] penalty.”