Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri reaches 90 goals and climbs past Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari (89 goals) to move up to fourth place
Posted Date – 07:20 AM, Thu – 22 June 23
Bangalore: Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri became the fourth highest scorer in international football history with a hat-trick in his side’s SAFF Championship opener against Pakistan.
He now has 90 goals and surpasses Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari (89 goals) for the fourth highest scorer in international football.
Argentina’s FIFA World Cup-winning legend Lionel Messi (103 goals), retired Iranian player Ali Daei (109 goals) and legendary Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (123 goals) are all higher on the goalscoring list. Chetri.
Among active players, Chhetri has the third most goals among international players, behind Messi (103) and Ronaldo (123).
India’s men’s soccer team beat arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of the 2023 SAFF Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, scoring four goals to beat the hapless opponents’ defense.
India captain Sunil Chhetri scored a hat-trick up front (10, 16 and 73 minutes) before Udanta Singh Kumam scored in the 81st minute.
With the win, India kept their seventh consecutive clean sheet against traditional opponents.
India top the Group A standings with a better goal difference than Kuwait, who beat Nepal 3-1 in their tournament opener earlier on Wednesday.
India are participating in this tournament after winning the Intercontinental Cup in 2023. They are currently ranked 101st in the FIFA rankings. India got off to a quick start and were aggressive against 195th-ranked Pakistan.
India scored their first goal in the first 10 minutes of the game after Pakistan goalkeeper Sachi Bhanif made a mistake in front of the goal. Saqib Hanif was unable to clear the ball quickly after receiving a pass back and kicked it into the path of an oncoming Sunil Chhetri. The Indian captain took advantage of the error to score, and the Indian team led 1-0.
As the score increased, India began attacking Pakistan’s half from both wings. Under pressure, Pakistan’s defense collapsed and a penalty was awarded for handling the ball in their own half. Sunil Chhetri stepped up and fired the ball to the left of the goal to give India a 2-0 lead.
India maintained possession and dominated the game. Meanwhile, Pakistan came close to scoring in the 29th minute when Mohammad Sufyan dribbled past the Indian defender but hit the crossbar. At the end of the first half, India led 2-0.
India held the lead in the second half and scored an immediate goal. The Indian midfielder provided a through ball to the striker but the attacker was unable to take advantage of it.
India scored after an end-to-end fight in which Pakistan came close to scoring. Under the pressure of India, Pakistan’s defense line was broken again. Sunil Chhetri was brought down in the penalty area and the referee quickly signaled the scene. This time, Chhetri scored a hat-trick of balls into the top left corner, giving India a 3-0 lead.
A few minutes later, India scored their fourth goal of the game. Anwar Ali fired into Pakistan’s half-time and unmarked Udanta Singh scored from close range to make it 4-0. With Pakistan out of reach, the Indian football team maintained possession and finished the game.
India will face Nepal in their second Group A match on Saturday.
