Don't Count Goals - Sunil Chhetri after Surpassing Lionel Messi as Twin Strikes Helps India Beat Bangladesh

Indian football talisman Sunil Chhetri has surpassed Argentina’s global superstar Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal-scorer with 74 strikes, adding another feather to his illustrious career.

The 36-year-old Chhetri achieved the staggering feat with his brace against Bangladesh in the joint preliminary qualifying round match for 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup on Monday night.

The seasoned striker, who helped India register their first win in six years in World Cup qualifiers, now stands only behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (103) in the active international goal-scorer list.

When asked if he keeps a tab on the list of the highest international goalscorer, Chhetri said: “You know, I don’t. Once I’m done in ten years we will talk about all my goals,” Chhetri said after the match in a video posted by AIFF on Twitter.

Chhetri leads Barcelona star Messi by two goals and sits a place above Ali Mabkhout of the UAE, who is third on the list with 73 strikes to his name. Messi scored his 72nd international goal in a World Cup qualifier against Chile last Thursday, while Mabkhout added to his tally against Malaysia, also last week.

At the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday, Chhetri broke the deadlock in the 79th minute when he headed in Ashique Kuruniyan’s cross from the left, and then sealed the victory by curling in a shot from long range in added time. The India captain is also just goal away from entering world football’s all-time top-10. He is behind Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis, Japan’s Kunishige Kamamoto, and Kuwait’s Bashar Abdullah, who all have 75 goals.

“It was tough, frustrating at times. We missed a lot of chances, could have done a lot of things better but in the end, we are happy that we got the three points which were needed,” said Chhetri.

“We probably should have done a lot of things better. Anyways to win full three points and game is always sweet. I’m really happy that we also kept a clean sheet,” he added.

Chhetri’s twin strikes meant India registered their first win in what was turning out to be a forgettable World Cup qualifying campaign in many years. It was also India’s first victory in World Cup qualifiers away from home in 20 years. With the win, India rose to the third spot in Group E with six points from seven games.

“It has been a topsy-turvy qualifier, we had some decent performances but we weren’t able to show any result,” said Chhetri.

India will next lock horns against Afghanistan in the qualifiers on June 15. The side is already out of contention to qualify for World Cup 2022, but the Indian men’s football team can still can make it to the Asian Cup in China.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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