Chhetri leads Barcelona star, Messi, by two goals and sits a place above Ali Mabkhout of the UAE, who is third on the list with 73 goals to his name.
Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri on Monday surpassed Argentina’s global superstar Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal-scorer with 74 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
The 36-year-old Chhetri achieved the feat with his brace against Bangladesh in the joint preliminary qualifying round match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The seasoned player, who helped India register their first win in six years in World Cup qualifiers, now stands only behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (103) in the active international goal-scorers list.
“Our @IndianFootball skipper Sunil Chhetri adds another to his illustrious cap as he overtook Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goalscorer with 74 goals. A big congratulations to Captain Fantastic & wishing him many more accolades in the future” All India Football Federation President Praful Patel said.
Chhetri leads Barcelona star, Messi, by two goals and sits a place above Ali Mabkhout of the UAE, who is third on the list with 73 goals to his name.
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Messi scored his 72nd international goal in a World Cup qualifier against Chile last Thursday, while Mabkhout added to his tally against Malaysia, also last week.
At the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday, Chhetri broke the deadlock in the 79th minute when he headed in Ashique Kuruniyan’s cross from the left, and then sealed the victory by curling in a shot from long range in added time.
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