Intercontinental Cup: India beat Lebanon, became champion after five years
The Indian men’s football team has lifted the Intercontinental Cup after a wait of five years. In the match played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, the Indian team defeated Lebanon 2-0 on the basis of goals by captain Sunil Chhetri and Lallinzuala Chhangte.
Captain Sunil Chhetri scored the first goal for India in this match. After him the second goal was scored by Lallinzuala Chhangte. On the other hand, Lebanon could not score a single goal in the entire match and had to face defeat from India. The first half of the match was goalless, with both the teams unable to score any goals. Soon to be a father, 38-year-old Sunil Chhetri then scored in the 46th minute to give India the lead. This goal was the 87th goal of Chhetri’s career, which he scored with the help of Chhangte. Significantly, Chhetri is third in the list of active players with the most goals in international football.
After this, Lallinzuala Chhangte scored a goal in the 66th minute of the match to give the team a two lead. With the scoring of this goal, where the intentions of the Lebanese team were shattered, the Indian spectators were jubilant. Let us inform that the team occupying 99th place in the world ranking stunned Lebanon. India, ranked 101st in the world rankings, has won this tournament for the second time. It was earlier won by the Indian team in the inaugural season of the Intercontinental Cup in the year 2018, in which it defeated Kenya. After this the Indian team could not win any title. Even in the second season of the Intercontinental Cup, the Indian team came last.
such a match
In sultry heat, both the teams had chances to take the lead in the opening half but failed to capitalize on it. It was a similar half as the two teams had played out a goalless draw in the last match of the round robin stage two days earlier. During this, India focused on keeping the ball with them for a long time, while Lebanon’s emphasis was on attacking. Lebanon attacked the Indian goal post seven times, while the Indian team, which controlled the ball 58 percent of the time, attacked the Lebanese goal post only three times.
Things changed after the interval, however. First up, Chhangte took control of the ball from close to the box and passed it to Chhetri and the Indian skipper made no mistake in chipping away at Lebanese goalkeeper Ali Sabeh. The team made the most of this opportunity with the excellent cohesion of the players. Nikhil Pujari pushed the ball through the Lebanese players from tight space towards Chhangte and the player made no mistake in creating an opportunity for his inspirational captain.
After taking a one-goal lead, the Indian players took advantage of the home conditions to double the lead with Chhangte’s effort. Substitute Naorem Mahesh Singh attempted to score from Chhetri’s pass but his effort was saved by the Lebanese goalkeeper. The goalkeeper, however, could not keep the ball under control, which splashed and went to Chhangte, and the player put the ball into the goal post.
