India clinched eight SAFF Championship titles after beating Nepal 3-0 in the final here on Saturday following second-half goals from Sunil Chhetri, Suresh Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad. Chhetri scored in the 49th minute of the match, which put him on a par with Lionel Messi in 80 international goals, while Suresh Singh doubled the lead in the 50th to pave the way for India’s title win, a mediocre series. The latter was very important. .
Sahal Abdul Samad dribbled some defenders in the 90th minute to take a 3-0 lead. India dominated in the first half but failed to break the deadlock. However, Chhetri put India ahead of the minutes in the second half and before Nepal settled down, Suresh made it 2-0.
This is the first title win for the Indian football team under head coach Igor Stimac, who has faced criticism for his team’s inability to win enough games in recent times. However, when it mattered the most in this edition of the regional tournament, Stimac’s players delivered the results the team’s fans were waiting for. Stimac also became the third overseas coach after Jiri Pesek (1993) and Stephen Constantine (2015) to win the title with the Indian team. Chhetri gave India the lead when he neatly hit a ball off Pritam Kotal’s right side, leaving the Nepalese goalkeeper no chance to come to his team’s defence.
Barely a minute after Chhetri’s opener, another India attack completely shut down Nepal as Suresh found it in the back of the net after Yasir Mohammed brilliantly cut it back to mid-fielder. After two quick strikes with their tails up, India fought hard for more but could not add to the tally. Manveer Singh got a chance to play in the 52nd minute, but his left-footed attempt was intercepted. Udant Singh had a good chance in the 79th minute but Rohit Chand gave a decent block to deny the Indian winger.
It was goalless at the break as both India and Nepal could not capitalize on the opportunities that came their way. India could have advanced a few minutes before half-time but the right flank delivery for Chhetri did not go well as the Indian skipper’s effort went wide. However, India, with their second half performance, did much to Stimac’s delight.
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