Sunil Chhetri was on the scoresheet again as Indian men’s football team clinched the 2021 SAFF Championship with a commanding 3-0 win over N...
Sunil Chhetri was on the scoresheet again as Indian men’s football team clinched the 2021 SAFF Championship with a commanding 3-0 win over Nepal in the final in Male, Maldives on Saturday.
The strong second-half display gave Igor Stimac, who was not on the sidelines for the final because of a suspension, his first silverware as the Blue Tigers boss.
After a goalless first half, India took the game away from Nepal with two quick-fire goals just after the restart.
Indian captain Chhetri opened the scoring with a fine header from a Pritam Kotal cross in the 48th minute for his 80th international goal. Then, Suresh Singh Wangjam doubled the lead two minutes later as he slotted a Yasir Mohammad cutback into the bottom corner.
India had a few more chances to add to their lead in the second half as Nepal pushed ahead in search of their goal in the second half but failed to convert them. That would change in some style at the end of the match when substitute Sahal Abdul Samad danced his way through the Nepal defence to score a truly wonderful solo goal.
India had made a sticky start to the tournament with draws against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but bounced...
