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AFC Asian Cup qualifying: Chhetri double helps India beat Cambodia 2-0


India played right on their form and situation to beat Cambodia 2-0 thanks to a double from Sunil Chhetri in the opening match of Group D of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers, at Salt Lake Stadium this coming Wednesday. .

Playing his 127th game for his country, Chhetri netted his 81st international goal after taking a penalty 14 minutes into. The India captain could make it 3-0 after half an hour but couldn’t create it. showed sharpness when he was found in the box with precise crosses, first by right-back Roshan Singh in the 22nd minute and then on the left. -returns Akash Mishra at 32 minutes.

The Indian captain headed past on the first attempt while failing to connect his second from near the dreaded position.

India controlled the action for much of the match as the visitor sought to defend his area with eight men for most of the time. There, India’s offensive line initially struggled against Cambodia’s overt defensive layout but settled into rhythm as Liston Colaco began to find the fulcrum of opposing armor in partnership with Akash .

The first goal was scored when Colaco was fouled by defender Kok Boris in the Cambodia penalty area, leading to a penalty that Chhetri scored.

AS IT HAPPENED:
India vs Cambodia Highlights AFC Asian Cup qualifiers: Chhetri scored twice to help the Blue Tigers win the opening match of Group D.

India continued to ramp up attack after the break as coach Igor Stimac introduced a few changes aimed at making the team’s attack more effective. The arrivals of striker Sahal Abdul Samad and winger Udanta Singh, who replaced struggling Manvir Singh and Anirudh Thapa, paved the way for the attack and paved the way for a second goal in the second minute.

Chhetri was perfect this time around as he nodded home with a Brandon Fernandes cross to secure victory for India and score his 82nd international goal.

Thousands of stands filled the stands to cheer on the home team with plenty of reason to celebrate as the country’s top goalscoring striker realized their hopes with a memorable performance.

India could have beefed up their possession but after captain Chhetri was substituted midway through the second half, substitutes Sahal Abdul Samad and Ashique Kuruniyan were unable to get the shot on target. their high.

A small controversy broke out at the start of the match when the organizers were unable to play the Cambodian national anthem and were forced to postpone it for seven minutes. There was a long lull after the Indian national anthem was played and both teams waited nervously on the field as the audio console operator was unable to stream the Cambodian national anthem live.

The issue was eventually resolved when a Cambodian official asked for it to be played on his mobile phone. This incident occurred after the Cambodian team complained to the AFC about the organizers not putting their national flag to “accurate specifications”, forcing the mainland agency to use an image of the appropriate flag. on the giant screen.

Results of today’s matches:

  • India 2 (Sunil Chhetri 14-pen, 60) bt Cambodia 0.
  • Hong Kong 2 (Wong Wai 23, Matthew Orr 27) bt Afghanistan 1 (Farshad Noor 81).



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