- Monday, May 06, 2024
By: Admin Super
On Wednesday, the India men’s football team defeated Maldives to qualify for the 2021 SAFF Championship in Male. Sunni Chhetri’s twin goals between 9 minutes of each and Manvir’s goal in the first half gave the team an edge over their opponent.
The Indian footballers will now play against Nepal for the SAFF championship trophy on Saturday, 17 October 2021, at 16:00. Go to Liontips.com for sports news, betting tips, and predictions.
The Indian captain has replaced legendary Brazil Footballer Pele with the two goals as the 3rd highest active international goal scorer. He is also the 6th highest goal scorer globally, with 79 goals in 124 matches, and Zambian Godfrey Chitalu scored 79 in 111 appearances.
Sunni Chhetri is a goal shy of reaching Lionel Messi, who has scored 80 goals, while Cristiano Ronaldo tops the rank with 115 goals under his belt. The Indian Skipper broke the Pele record in the semi-finals SAFF tournament between India and Maldives.
For India to qualify for the final match, they needed a win, while the Maldives required only a draw. The first half of the game was intense as the Indian team strived to fend off their opponent’s counter-attacks until Indian striker Manvir Singh scored the first goal with a controlled strike in the 33rd minute.
The Indian team coach soon made a substitution and replaced Mandar Rao Dessai with Chinglensana Singh. However, a foul on the penalty box by full-back Pritam Kota allowed the Maldives squad to equalize the goal. Ali Ashfaq, the Maldives’ striker, scored a penalty goal in the 45th minute.
In the second half, the Indian players performed better than their opponents. In five minutes, Brandon had sustained an injury and was replaced by Udanta Singh while Lalengmawia took charge of the head playmaking duties.
Chhetri nearly scored a goal after the ball passed through Chinglensana, Lalengmawia, and Suresh and into his path but the Blue Tigers’ Skipper missed.
As the game progressed, Lalengmawia forwarded the ball to Manvir Singh, who chested the ball onto Sunni Chhetri’s path. Seizing the chance, Chhetri blasted the ball into the opponent’s goal post and put the team ahead.
Maldives team tried to equalize the score with a free-kick close to the Indian penalty area but, Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet was quick to tilt the ball over the bar.
With another forward from Lalengmawia, Sunil Chhetri scored another goal with a header at the 71st minute.
Later, Indian coach Igor Stimac replaced Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh, and Md Yasir with Rahim Ali, Glan Martins, and Anirudh Thapa. Thapa almost scored a goal towards the end, but the shot entered the side netting. But the team held off all attacks until the end of the match.
However, the team’s coach, Stimac, and center-back player Subhasish Bose received marching orders from the referee. Therefore they won’t make appearances in the final game. India emerged as the winner and qualified for the 12th time since the start of the SAFF championship.
