AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: Sunil Chhetri’s brace helps India beat Cambodia in Group D opener
The win took India to the top of Group D. India will play Afghanistan next on Saturday.
The Indian men’s football team started its AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers third round campaign with a 2-0 win over Group D opponents Cambodia at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri (14’, 60’) scored a brace while the defenders stayed compact to deny Cambodia.
With this win, India, ranked 106th in the latest FIFA Rankings, moved to the top of Group D with three points and a goal difference of +2. Cambodia, ranked 171st, are fourth on the points table. Hong Kong, who beat Afghanistan 2-1 earlier in the day, are second.
Four minutes into the match, India’s star defender Sandesh Jhingan received a booking as Cambodia pressed hard for an early lead.
However, the home side soon upped the ante and won a penalty in the 14th minute after Indian midfielder Liston Colaco was brought down inside the Cambodia box.
Sunil Chhetri placed it to the right of the Cambodian goalkeeper to draw first blood.
India dominated the midfield and kept attacking from both flanks. However, the Cambodian defence repelled the Indian attackers.
Cambodia dominated possession in the final 10 minutes of the first half and got their best chance of the period in the final minute of the play.
Midfielder Keo Sokpheng’s free-kick from just outside the box was struck well but Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu kept it out to keep India’s slender lead intact.
India dominated 69% of the ball in the first half and had seven shots on goal compared to Cambodia’s three.
Indian coach Igor Stimac made two attacking substitutions at half time, bringing on Sahal Abdul Samad and Udanta Singh.
India almost scored their second goal in the 50th minute but Sunil Chhetri could not convert his header from Brandon Fernandes’ cross from the right.
India started penetrating the Cambodia box more frequently and finally found the goal in the 60th minute. Brandon, this time, put it on a plate for Chhetri who made no mistakes and gave India a much-needed cushion.
India kept looking for the third goal and Cambodia, despite trailing 2-0, were forced to sit back and defend for the rest of the game.
India will next face third-placed Afghanistan on Saturday followed by a potentially vital contest against Hong Kong on Tuesday. Teams in each group will play each other once and the eventual group winner and five best runner-ups across all groups will qualify for Asian Cup 2023.
India have played in four AFC Asian Cups in 1964, 1984, 2011 and 2019. The team’s best performance at the continental event was a runners-up finish on their debut campaign in 1964.