captain Sunil Chhetri And Mahesh Singh India qualified for the semi-finals of the SAFF Football Championship by defeating Nepal 2-0 in their second group match here on Saturday with the help of a goal by K. Chhetri scored again for his team which was his fourth goal of the tournament. He scored the goal in the 61st minute and then Mahesh Singh scored the second goal for the team in the 70th minute, which helped India register its second consecutive win. India defeated Pakistan 4-0 in their opening match in the tournament on Wednesday in which Chhetri scored a hat-trick.
Sunil Chhetri scored the first goal
Sunil Chhetri (91 goals in 139 matches) has become the second highest goalscorer among Asian footballers after Iran’s Ali Daei (109 goals in 148 matches) while he is third among active footballers in the world. He is the highest goalscorer among active Asian players. With six points from two wins, India qualified for the semi-finals from Group A along with Kuwait (six points). Kuwait registered their second consecutive win by defeating Pakistan 4-0 in the first match of the day.
SAFF Championship: Pakistani goalkeeper made a small mistake and Sunil Chhetri scored the goal, see VIDEO
now it’s time for the final
The Indian team will now take on Kuwait on June 27 to decide the winner of the group. Nepal and Pakistan are out of the semi-final race after losing both their matches. India, however, had to deal with a tough challenge from Nepal to reach the semi-finals. India made a lot of changes in the match, with only three players retaining their places in the starting XI, Chhetri, Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad who played in the previous match against Pakistan.
Nepal looked strong in the first half
Nepal showed a great performance in the first half with strong defense and sharp counter-attacks. India got their first good chance in the 21st minute, but Sahal’s header on a cross went wide of the goalpost. Nepal’s team could have taken the lead in the 34th minute if Bimal Ghatri’s shot had been a little quicker. In the second half, India showed more pace and they got the result in the 61st minute when Sahal and Mahesh broke through Nepal’s defense in a one-two combination to pass Chhetri inside the box and the star forward beat Nepali goalkeeper Kiran Limbu. Scored a goal while dodging.
Indian players full of energy after a goal
After this goal, Indian footballers were filled with energy and started looking for another goal with Sahal showing great performance in the midfield. This footballer from Kerala played with Mahesh Singh in the second half. Sahal’s quickness and skill played an important role in the team’s second goal. The midfielder raced through the middle to play a pass to Chhetri who sent it towards Limbu and in the 70th minute Mahesh Singh was in the right place to head it home to give India a decisive 2-0 lead. Despite losing two goals, Nepal did not reduce its efforts to make a comeback. But India kept the scoreline intact.
