Chhetri scores brace as India beats Cambodia in AFC Asian Cup qualifier

Skipper Sunil Chhetri scored both goals as India beat Cambodia 2-0 in the first round of its AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers Group D fixture at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.

Playing his 127th match for the country, Chhetri netted his 81st goal by scoring from the spot in the 14th minute. He could have made it 2-0 by the half-hour mark but failed in the final third despite getting accurate crosses right-back Roshan Singh in the 22nd minute and left-back Akash Mishra 10 minutes later.

India’s attacking prowess

India controlled the match for a major part even the visitors sought to guard their citadel, employing as many as eight men for most of the contest. The hosts’ attack-line struggled initially before settling down. Liston Colaco started finding chinks in the opposition’s armour in partnership with Akash and the opening goal came when the former was brought down inside the box by Cambodia defender Kok Boris. Chhetri made no mistake with the penalty.

India continued to press forward after the break as coach Igor Stimac made a couple of changes. The arrival of forward Sahal Abdul Samad and winger Udanta Singh, who replaced the struggling Manvir Singh and Anirudh Thapa, pepped up the attack. Chhetri provided the finish again, nodding home a Brandon Fernandes cross.

Other result: Hong Kong 2 (Wong Wai 23, Matthew Orr 27) bt Afghanistan 1 (Farshad Noor 81).