Indian Football Team: Where Sunil Chhetri stands among highest international goalscorers

The Indian football team registered their first win of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as they beat Bangladesh 2-0 on Monday. It was the Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri  who led by example to bag a brace at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

It was turning out to be another tight game for the Blue Tigers, but that’s where Chhetri came in and headed one in from a cross by Kuruniyan at the 79^th minute. The Indian captain then sealed the deal at injury time courtesy an assist by Suresh Singh. The three maximum points now keeps the Indian football team on course of a spot in the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup.

Indian Football Team captain Sunil Chhetri goals galore

As a result of the two goals, Sunil Chhetri with 74 goals is now the second highest scorer among the active players in world football. Chhetri has overtaken Argentina star man Lionel Messi, and is now behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo who has 103 international goals.

? He’s now got more than Messi! Sunil Chhetri’s double earns the Blue Tigers a 2-0 win in #WCQ and moves him on to 74 international goals – above Lionel Messi and one off entering world football’s all-time top 10 ?‍♂️@chetrisunil11 | @IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/sCCd6BgS9H

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 7, 2021

Talking about the all-time list of international goal scorers, Sunil Chhetri finds himself in at 11^th. However, he could  very climb higher up soon, as Hungary’s Sandor Kocis, Japan’s Kunishige Kamamoto and Kuwait’s Bashar Abdullah have 75 goals each.

Plenty of Indian football fans were on their feet for Sunil Chhetri’s remarkable achievement, and expressed their admiration for him on social media.

Active footballers with the most international goals:
Cristiano Ronaldo – 103 ??
SUNIL CHHETRI – 74 ??
Lionel Messi – 72 ??#SunilChhetri pic.twitter.com/lGwqln9hvC

— Nikhil anand (@23nikhilanand) June 7, 2021

It’s him. It’s still him. It’s always him. Sunil Chhetri ❤️ ??

Captain. Leader. Legend.

— Conrad Barreto (@conradbeckham) June 7, 2021

Active footballers with the most international goals:

Cristiano Ronaldo – 103 ??
SUNIL CHHETRI – 74 ??
Lionel Messi – 72 ??
Neymar- 65 ??

Who'll fill the void when the Indian Captain retires?

Captain. Leader. Legend.#BANIND #WCQ #BackTheBlue #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/wQiwZRqBmM

— ?????? (@cosmicfibration) June 7, 2021

Sunil Chhetri made his debut for the Blue Tigers way back in 2005, as the 36-year-old still goes strong in 2021. He also holds the record for most number of international appearances, with 117 caps, while surpassing former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia with 107 caps.

Indian vs Afghanistan, World Cup Qualifier

The Indians will be up against Afghanistan for their next fixture in Group E of World Cup Qualifiers. The match will be hosted at the Jassim BIin Hamad Stadium, with the kick off time being 7:30 PM (IST). In terms of standings, India are 3rd in Group E with six points courtesy one win, three draws and three defeats.