Indian football legend overtakes Messi to become 2nd highest international goalscorer

Once again Sunil Chhetri the captain of the Indian national football team has proved why he is the leader and legend of the Indian footballing ecosystem for almost a decade. After scoring a match-winning brace against Bangladesh in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers, Sunil suppressed Lionel Messi and becomes the second-highest active international goalscorer with 74 goals. With that Chhetri has added another feather to his illustrious cap.

Chhetri's first goal was a properly-timed header from a left-sided cross while he went on to score his second after he received a pass from Suresh Singh to place it into the back of the net.

Besides, Indian Captain is also now just a goal away from entering world football’s all-time top 10 lists. The striker finds himself in at 11th position behind Hungary's Sandor Kocsis, Japan's Kunishige Kamamoto, and Kuwait's Bashar Abdullah, who all have 75 goals.

All India Football Federation President Praful Patel congratulated Chhetri for becoming the second-highest active international goalscorer.

After breaking Messi's tally Chhetri said, "To win Keycap digit three points, win a full game is sweet! I'm really happy that we also kept a clean sheet."

This was also India's first win in the 7th game in the Asian leg of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. With this fantastic win, India has risen to the third spot in Group E with six points following hosts Qatar (19 points) and Oman (12). India is now all set to lock its horn against Afghanistan in the Qualifiers on June 15. Chhetri will be hoping to add to his goal tally and help India finish third on the 2022 World Cup qualifying table.