India kicked off their SAFF Championship campaign on a dominating note, sealing a 4-0 win vs Pakistan, courtesy of a Sunil Chhetri hattrick at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The hattrick also saw Chhetri become the fourth-highest goalscorer in international football history, as he took his tally to 90, going past Malaysia's Mokhtar Dahari (89) to climb to fourth spot among the highest goal-scorers in international football.
Lionel Messi (103), who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, former Iran star Ali Daei (109) and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (123) are above Chhetri in that list.
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Taking advantage of a blunder from Pakistan goalkeeper Saqib Hanif, Chhetri latched onto a poor pass to slot the opener in the 10th-minute. Then in the 16th-minute, a hand ball in the Pakistan penalty box gifted the hosts a penalty, which Chhetri shot to the left corner to make it 2-0. Then in the 74th-minute, Chhetri was fouled in the box and India once again received a penalty. Calm and cool, the veteran striker shot it towards the top left corner.
Here is the video of Chhetri's hattrick:
Meanwhile, a beautiful long ball by defender Anwar Ali saw Udanta Singh score his first goal since 2018 in the 81st-minute.Among the active players, Chhetri also has the third-most goals by an international player, with only Messi (103) and Ronaldo (123) ahead of him.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, a beautiful long ball by defender Anwar Ali saw Udanta Singh score his first goal since 2018 in the 81st-minute.Among the active players, Chhetri also has the third-most goals by an international player, with only Messi (103) and Ronaldo (123) ahead of him.
{{/usCountry}}The match was also an ill-tempered clash and saw India head coach Igor Stimac receive a red card just before half-time, as he tried to take the ball from a Pakistan player to prevent him from taking a throw-in. The incident got both teams into a tussle and the Croatian was sent off. Reacting after the match, Stimac wrote on Twitter, "Football is all about passion, especially when you defend the colours of your country. You can hate or love me for my actions yesterday, but I am a warrior and I will do it again when needed to protect our boys on the pitch against unjustified decisions."