Sunil Chhetri Becomes Fifth Highest Goal-Scorer In International Football As India Beat Kyrgyz Republic To Win Tri-Nation Tournament, WATCH

With the goal, India football captain Sunil Chhetri overtook Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas as the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of football.

Photo: IANS

India played some inspiring football against higher-ranked Kyrgyz Republic to snatch a 2-0 victory and bag the Hero Tri-National International Tournament Trophy with an all-win record in Imphal on Tuesday (March 28). India had earlier defeated Myanmar 1-0 on March 22. Captain Sunil Chhetri scored a record 85th international goal in India’s win.

With the goal, Chhetri overtook Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas as the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of football. Chhetri is overall third in the list of active footballers with the most goals, behind only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

Chhetri has scored the most goals in international football against Nepal and the Maldives. He has eight goals after playing six matches against the Maldives. And against Nepal, Chhetri netted eight goals after featuring in 12 matches. The Indian skipper found the back of the net six times against Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei. The Bengaluru FC striker scored five goals against Cambodia and Tajikistan.

WATCH Sunil Chhetri score his 85th international goal here…

....aaaaand that's #85 for Sunil Chhetri.pic.twitter.com/eUu6QHeUdE — Shyam Vasudevan (@JesuisShyam) March 28, 2023

Chhetri played just two matches against Kenya but managed to score four goals against the African nation. But against Afghanistan, he needed seven matches to earn four goals. His strike on Tuesday was his fourth against the Kyrgyz Republic. The Indian legend scored three goals against Myanmar, Bhutan, Vietnam and Guam. Chhetri has two goals to his name against countries like- Syria, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman and Thailand.

The opening goal on Tuesday came from centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, who found the target in the 34th minute. India added insurance in the 84th minute with Sunil Chhetri firing home from the spot.

Midfielder Brandon Fernandes put the ball in front of the rival goal off a free-kick and Jhingan pounced on it to find the back of the net to open India’s account in the first half. If the Kyrgyz Republic goalkeeper Tokotaev Erzhan thought the tall Indian defender would go for a header, he was mistaken as Jhingan waited for the ball to land and then swung it with a deft touch into the goal.

India kept launching attacks whenever they had the opportunity, and one such move in the 84th minute saw the Kyrgyz Republic defence crumble under pressure as Naorem Mahesh Singh was brought down inside the penalty box by Davydov Nikolai. The ensuing spot kick saw Chhetri score his 85th international goal. The striker stepped up to take the kick and tucked it into the corner of the net.

This was India’s fifth straight win on home turf. Stimac made six changes from the team that started against Myanmar, but it didn't break their rhythm one bit.

If preparations for the AFC Asian Cup in January next was the main purpose of hosting the tournament, then it was a success. The Indians showed that they are growing in confidence before they go for the all-important continental challenge.

(with PTI inputs)