Sunil Chhetri scored either side of half-time in India’s 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Sunil Chhetri scored twice in India’s win over Cambodia. Image: AIFF
India bagged all three points to get their AFC ASian Cup Qualifiers campaign off to a roaring start at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday. With two Sunil Chhetri goals, India beat Cambodia 2-0 with goals on either side of half time.
With the brace, Chhetri took his international goal tally to 82 goals from 127 official appearances. Among active players, Chhetri now trails Cristiano Ronaldo (117 goals) and Lionel Messi (86) by 35 and four goals respectively.
“It was important that we kept a clean sheet. I don’t want to sound harsh but we could have done better. We will be watching the videos and working on them,” Sunil averred. “As per the new format, there’s just one match per team. Hence, the margin of error is very small,” he said after the win.
“To start off the qualifiers with a victory means a lot. The conditions weren’t easy, and it was humid. That is a learning experience for the next game,” he informed.
Liston Colaco’s run into the Cambodia box was disrupted just as he went past a couple of players. The referee pointed to the spot and Chhetri slotted the penalty into the left corner.
At the hour mark, Chhetri lept highest to meet a cross from the left and headed the ball into the top right corner.
Before the game, Chhetri had asked the fans to throng the stadium and support the country in huge numbers. The Kolkata natives listened and got their money’s worth in India’s win and a clean sheet. This was the first game at the Salt Lake Stadium since facing Bangladesh in 2019.
India next face Afghanistan and Hong Kong on 11 June and 14 June respectively in the qualifiers.
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