Charismatic player Sunil Chhetri scored two goals as India beat Bangladesh 2-0 to register their first win in the combined qualifiers of FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023. This is the team’s first win in six years in this football tournament. In the World Cup qualifiers outside the home ground, the Indian team has registered a victory after 20 years.
With this win, the Indian team’s hopes of qualifying directly in the third round of the Asian Qualifiers have increased. The top three places in the group table will qualify directly for the third round of the Asian Cup Qualifiers. However, the Indian football team is already out of the race to qualify for the World Cup 2022.
After opening the team’s account in the 79th minute, Chhetri scored another goal in the last moments (90+2 minutes) to ensure a 2-0 victory for the team in this Group E match. In the second half of the match, Ashiq Kurunian’s cross was converted into a goal by Chhetri making a brilliant angle from the header, which gave a sigh of relief to Indian coach Igor Stimac. Chhetri did not stop there, he scored his 74th international goal in the last minute with a brilliant pass from Suresh Singh to the goal post and ensured three points for the Indian team.
The Indian team was dominant in the match from the beginning, but after falling behind by a goal, the Bangladesh players retaliated. Bangladesh’s team could not score a goal, but it gave India an opportunity to take the lead, which Chhetri took full advantage of.
Among the active players in international football, Chhetri has the most goals after Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. With yesterday’s football scores, the Indian team has seven points from six matches and has reached third place in the group table. Apart from this win, the team’s account includes three losses and three draws. India now has to play its last league match against Afghanistan on 15 June.
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