Sunil Chettri’s brace handed India its first victory in 11 matches and also took them to third on the points table in the World Cup Qualifiers.
India registered their first victory in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers group and their first win in 11 games when they beat Bangladesh 2-0 at the Hassim Bin Hamad stadium in Doha. The first half was quite difficult for India as the forwards were not able to push past the Bangladesh defense and the closest they got in the first half was a header by Chinglensana Singh’s which was cleared off the line.
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The second-half performance was something no one expected, as the Blue Tigers upped the tempo of the game and started to create more chances. The deadlock was finally broken in the 78th minute when Ashique Kuruniyan’s cross met Sunil Chhetri’s head as the ball floated to the center of the goal. India then kept the pressure on and continued to cause the Bangladesh defense plenty of trouble. The 36-year old Indian captain doubled his tally with a right-footed shot from the center of the box that flew into the top left corner and sealed the victory for India and also marked his 74th goal in 117 appearances.
Chhetri’s brace means he now surpasses Lionel Messi (72 Goals) to become the second-highest international goal scorer among active players.
QUALIFICATION AFC 2ND ROUND - GROUP E | |||||||
# | TEAMS | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
1 | Qatar | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 22 |
2 | Oman | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
3 | India | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -1 | 6 |
4 | Afghanishtan | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -9 | 5 |
5 | Bangladesh | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | -13 | 2 |
The Blue Tigers’ first victory took them to six points and third position on the points table. A third-place finish could mean an automatic berth in the third round of the AFC 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers. India’s next fixture is against Afghanistan who are just a point short of India with a game in hand. A win for India could secure a third-place finish on the table which is a big step for the county.
[Image Credit: Indian Football Team]
Shashank Iyer