Sunil Chhetri Now 29 Goals Away From Cristiano Ronaldo’s International Record

Captain. Leader. Legend. Appreciation and support have been pouring in for Sunil Chhetri after he netted a fantastic second-half brace to help India defeat Bangladesh in their Group E qualifier match of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup. Not only did he revive India's hopes of securing a third-round qualification into the 2023 Asian Cup, but he also climbed up in the list of active international goalscorers. With his 73rd and 74th strikes against Bangladesh at the Jassam Bin Hamad Stadium, the 36-year old edged past UAE's Ali Makhbout, who has scored 73 goals. Sunil Chhetri’s Brace Helps India Beat Bangladesh 2-0 in 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup Qualifier

Chhetri is now only second to Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a total of 103 international goals. Having surpassed Lionel Messi's goal count for Argentina, the Indian captain is 29 goals short of Ronaldo's mark. Also, with Euro 2020 set to kick off in a few days, Ronaldo is expected to add to his tally. Whether Chhetri breaks that record is for all of us to see. But as of now, let's just appreciate one of India's contemporary football greats in action. 'What Are We Going To Do When Sunil Chhetri Retires', Says Indian Football Team Head Coach Igor Stimac

Talking about the match, Chhetri opened the scoring in the 79th minute and then added another in extra time, which helped India clinch the win in this all-important match. They now have six points from seven games and this win took them to the third spot. India next take on Afghanistan in their last qualifier on June 15.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2021 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).