Highlights:
- India secures resounding 4-0 victory over Pakistan in SAFF Championship.
- Sunil Chhetri achieves landmark 90th goal for India.
- Chhetri rises to 4th place among All-Time International Goal-Scorers.
In the latest SAFF Championship, India crushed Pakistan 4-0 thanks to a hat-trick from the captain Sunil Chettri. Chettri upped his position on the list of all-time international goal scorers to fourth with this hat trick.
At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India defeated Pakistan with a hat-trick from Chettri and a goal from Udanta Singh Kumam for a final score of 4-1.
Chettri is now ahead of Lionel Messi of Argentina, who has won the Ballon d’Or seven times, former Iran striker Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals, and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who scored 123 goals to move into fourth place all-time top international goal scorers.
Perfect start to #SAFFChampionship2023 for the #BlueTigers ?
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 21, 2023
An absolutely dominant performance ????? #INDPAK #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/tUEFWGUffN
The home team had put pressure on Pakistan’s defenders from the off, and they were successful in the 10th minute owing to the goalkeeper’s mistake. The ball fell to the Indian the captain who made no mistakes in sending the ball into the goal after Saqib Hanif botched a straightforward effort at a pass.
Anirudh Thapa’s effort at a shot was blocked inside the box by a Pakistan defender in the 15th minute, and the ball struck his hand. India was then given a penalty. In order to give India the lead going into halftime, Chhetri stepped up once more and made the crucial save from the spot.
Igor Stimac, the India coach, was also dismissed from the game just before halftime for attempting to stop a Pakistani player from taking a throw-in by grabbing the ball from him. The players from both sides got into a fight because the Pakistani players were obviously upset by the Indian coach’s behaviour.
The Indian captain was pulled down in the area by Muhhamad Sufyan Asif in the 73rd minute, giving India another penalty-kick, which Chhetri easily scored to complete his hat-trick. Eight minutes later, Udanta scored with his left foot to give India a 4-0 lead after grabbing onto Anwar Ali’s wonderful aerial pass.
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