Sunil Chhetri finding net is good sign ahead of Afghan tie, says Shabbir Ali

It is good for India that Sunil Chhetri is still scoring at 36. He's still the best bet when it comes to getting a goal in a crucial time. If Chhetri strikes against Afghanistan in India's final qualifying game of Group E, he will break into the list of top ten all-time scorers.

Hyderabad: Following India's impressive 2-0 win against Bangladesh, which has kept the Blue Tigers' hope of making an entry in the China Asian Cup in 2023 alive, former Indian striker Shabbir Ali heaped praise on the team, and said he is hopeful that Igor Stimac's boys would qualify for the continental championship for the second successive time.

After going down to Qatar 0-1 in a defensive show in their first outing in post-pandemic time on June 3, India roared back to win against their neighbour to secure three points during their third-round FIFA 2022 World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifier match. It was India's first win under Igor Stimac's coaching in two years. Last time, India won in June 2019 when they defeated Thailand in the King's Cup, riding on Anirudh Thapa's 17th-minute strike.

Former India footballer Shabbir Ali

On Monday, both goals were scored by 36-year-old Sunil Chhetri. The veteran Indian striker breached the resilience of Bangladesh defence in the 79th minute for the first goal when he scored with a header to get past Lionel Messi's goal tally of 72 for Argentina, and then in the injury time, Chhetri attempted a lob from Bangladesh box to get India's second and his 74th international goal. Chhetri is now the second-highest goal scorer among the active international footballers behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who has scored 103 goals in 174 matches.

If Chhetri strikes against Afghanistan in India's final qualifying game of Group E, he will rise a notch higher in the list of top ten all-time scorers from his current ranking, 10th.

Praising Chhetri's effort to rescue India in a crunch situation, Ali said, "It is good for India that he is still scoring. At 36, he is still our best bet when it comes to getting a goal in a crucial time."

Calling Chhetri's goal from header a "fantastic effort", Shabbir Ali said, "He is very nippy. Finding Ashique Kuruniyan on the left flank, he started pulling the sprint from 35 yards, almost right from the middle of the pitch. Chhetri was covered by Tapu Barman from the time he was running. It was not the best of the cross from Ashique Kuruniyan. After seeing Bangladesh goalkeeper (Anisur Rahman Zico) coming towards the left barpost, it narrowed Sunil's angle, yet he placed the header to his left to put it in the net."

"It showed his football sense. He dodged the defender at the very last month despite being shorter than him," Ali told ETV Bharat.

In a span of 13 minutes, Chhetri scored his second goal of the match. It again demonstrated superb coordination between Indian players. Pressing in the Bangladesh half, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Chhetri's Bengaluru FC teammate, sparked through the right flank unstoppable. He gathered the ball and cut it back to the Indian skipper who found himself unmarked in the Bangladesh box and shot it on the left corner of the goalpost to complete a fine 2-0 win.

"Though he missed a few crucial chances in the match which could have proved costly for India, Chhetri covered up his mistakes with two late goals, providing much-needed respite for Stimac," said the 65-year-old former Indian striker.

On adapting to physical game

India throughout the match were in control of the game, yet they couldn't breach the Bangladesh defence led by Jamal Bhuyan until into the dying minutes of the second half. As a result, a few opportunities had also gone to waste, and later as Bangladeshi players decided to play ugly, things became tighter for India.

But Shabbir Ali, former Technical Director of the Indian team, doesn't think the physical game is a challenge for India now.

"I don't think it is anymore a problem for India. Earlier, India used to be bogged down by the opposition team's physical play. But now, as Indian players are playing against taller foreign defenders in the ISL, the physical game is no more a new thing for Indian players. And to win a game, they always have to find a way out, else how would they win?

"India didn't bother hard tackles by Bangladeshi defenders as they were always in scoring position. Playing in ISL's competitive atmosphere helped Indian players. Failing to score against Bangladesh even after enjoying over 70 per cent possession would have been an insult for India," stated Ali, who played 72 matches for India.

Talking about India's strategy for the June 15 game against Afghanistan, who played out a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh, Shabbir Ali said, "After playing a big match, especially after a win which came after a long time, a team tends to be happy and exhausted. But Stimac has a week to prepare his team for the next game. I don't think India will take Afghanistan lightly as they are a better-ranked team than Bangladesh. They have some good defenders which included Gokulam Kerala player Sharif Mukhammad. But India, as a better-ranked side, after this win will be expected to beat the Afghans and make it to the AFC Asian Cup."

-- By Sudipta Biswas