Highlights, India vs Cambodia, AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers: Chhetri brace helps India win 2-0

FT: India 2-0 Cambodia

India are off to a winning start in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, handing Cambodia a 2-0 defeat in their first Group D fixture at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata thanks to a brace from veteran superstar Sunil Chhetri!

It’s also head coach Igor Stimac’s first victory in the role on home soil!

India 2-0 Cambodia

90’: Three minutes of added time announced at the YBK. Can the Blue Tigers squeeze in a third here?

India 2-0 Cambodia

87’: Ashique Kuruniyan nearly scores a third for the Indians, finding his way into the Cambodian penalty box and getting into a 1v1 with the opposition goalkeeper. The ball deflects off the keeper’s gloves and narrowly the goalpost. Corner for India.

India 2-0 Cambodia

80’: Udanta takes the corner in the 80th minute, but this is deflected away from the goalpost and towards the midfield by the Cambodian midfield. The Blue Tigers will hope to seal the deal with a third goal to their name!

India coach Stimac, meanwhile, brought Pritam Kotal onto the field in the 71st minute in place of Roshan Naorem Singh in another substitution.

India 2-0 Cambodia

68’:  No hat-trick for Chhetri today as the veteran forward’s taken off shortly after his second goal of the evening

IN: Martins and Kuruniyan

OUT: Chhetri and Fernandes

India 2-0 Cambodia

63’: Cambodia make a couple of changes:

IN: Sinti and Noron

OUT: Suhana and Sokpheng

India 2-0 Cambodia

59’: GOAL! The Blue Tigers go 2-0 up as Chhetri collects his second, heading the ball past the Cambodian keeper following an accurate cross from Brandon Fernandes, who set things up nicely with a short corner.

India had been relentlessly building pressure right from the start of the second interval, and have been rewarded for their aggressive approach!

India 1-0 Cambodia

50’: Plenty of OOHS and AAHS from the YBK crowd as Chhetri goes for another header, and for the second time today, the ball goes above the bar. India off to an attacking start after halftime!

Play resumes at YBK, Kolkata after the half-time interval. India make two changes — bringing in Sahal Samad and Udanta Singh in place of Anirudh Thapa and Manvir Singh.

Can Cambodia put up a tougher fight in the second half and go level? Or will the Blue Tigers fire another goal or two and begin their campaign on a winning note?

Stay tuned to find out…

MILESTONE ALERT
 

Sunil Chhetri took his international goal tally to 81 after successfully converting a penalty in the 14th minute.

The Indian superstar is now the third-highest goal-scorer in international football among active players, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (117) and Lionel Messi (86). He’s also the sixth-highest goal-scorer of all time!

HT: India 1-0 Cambodia

45+1’: Free kick for the Cambodians at the cusp of the half-time interval. Indian goalkeeper Sandhu though times his jump well to collect the ball safely.

And with that, it’s half-time at the Salt Lake Stadium in India’s opening game of the Qualifiers as they head into the interval with a slender lead, having enjoyed a majority of the possession so far.

India 1-0 Cambodia

42’: The Blue Tigers nearly get a second just minutes before halftime! Nice little run from Akash Mishra and he goes for a right-footed shot from just outside the box. The ball curves in, but is intercepted by the Cambodian custodian

India 1-0 Cambodia

31’: Yellow card for Sunil Chhetri following a high tackle on Cambodia’s Choun Chanchav in the midfield, and the star striker doesn’t look one bit happy! The referee though remains unfazed as he brings the card out despite his pleas.

India 1-0 Cambodia

22’: Chhetri has another shot at the goal with a header after a cross from the right flank, but the ball flies well over the bar. India though are pressing hard at the moment and are building pressure on the Angkor Warriors.

India 1-0 Cambodia

14’ GOAL! Captain Sunil Chhetri puts the Blue Tigers forward with a pin-point accurate kick that beats the Cambodian keeper even though he had guessed the direction correctly. Huge roar at the Salt Lake Stadium as Team India seize the lead early on in the game!

India 0-0 Cambodia

12’ The Blue Tigers have earned a penalty just after the 10-minute mark after Liston Colaco is brought down inside the Cambodian penalty box. Sunil Chhetri to take the kick.

India 0-0 Cambodia

4’ Cambodia get the free kick in the early minutes of the game. Indian custodian Gurpreet Sandhu though collects the ball safely after a shot from about 20 yards out.

Here’s the Blue Tigers lineup for this game

And this is how the #BlueTigers 🐯 will line-up today 📜#INDCAM ⚔️ #AsianCup2023 🏆 #BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/dUusdFhpNU

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 8, 2022

Packed to the rafters at the Salt Lake Stadium!

The fans are here to #BackTheBlue 💙#INDCAM ⚔️ #AsianCup2023 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/RUSqrGMj8u

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 8, 2022

“Indian football team coach Igor Stimac’s moment of reckoning is here. The Blue Tigers open their 2023 AFC Asian Cup final round qualifiers campaign on Wednesday and will be playing three matches in total as they aim to get to the finals of the continental showpiece event for the fifth time in history. And for the first time in consecutive editions, having featured in 2019.”

Ujwal Singh previews India’s qualification campaign for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, starting with the match against Cambodia.