Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri’s double strike in the second half gave India their first win in six years in FIFA World Cup qualifiers, defeating Bangladesh 2-0 in Doha on Monday. With a double goal, Indian football talisman Chhetri surpassed Argentine football legend Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal-scorer.
Both teams failed to score in the first half of the preliminary round match, and it was Chhetri’s header in the 79th minute that broke the deadlock. Substitute Ashique delivered a left-wing cross for Chhetri, who came in after a blistering run and headed in beautifully. The skipper sealed the 2-0 victory in extra time (90+2) with another fine strike after receiving the ball from Suresh Singh from the right flank.
India are already out of contention for a slot in next year’s World Cup due to their poor performances in this tournament, but the victory over Bangladesh boosted their confidence and keeps them in hunt for a spot in the 2023 Asian Cup. The victory at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday was India’s first in World Cup qualifiers away from home in 20 years. India has six points after seven matches, whereas Bangladesh has only two points.
Second-highest active international goal-scorer
Captain Sunil Chhetri surpassed Argentine football legend Lionel Messi in terms of international goals with a double yesterday. The 36-year-old Chhetri now has 74 international goals, while Messi is only two behind with 72 goals.
With this, Chhetri became the second-highest active international goal-scorer in the world. Of the current players, only the Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo is ahead of Chhetri in the number of international goals. Ronaldo has scored 103 international goals. Rono is the second highest goalscorer in football history. With 109 goals, Iranian footballer Ali Daei is the only player ahead than Rono.
Chhetri has also been named one of the top ten international goal scorers in world football history. He is currently ranked 10th in the list.
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