India defeats Nepal to win SAFF Championship

Chhetri scored in the 49th minute of the match, which put him level with Lionel Messi on 80 international goals. Suresh doubled the lead in the following minute to pave the way for India’s title triumph, a much-needed one after a series of mediocre outings. Sahal made it 3-0 when he dribbled past a few defenders in the 90th minute.

This is the India football team’s first crown under head coach Igor Stimac, who faced criticism in recent times for his side’s inability to win games. Stimac became the third foreign coach after Jiri Pesek (1993) and Stephen Constantine (2015) to clinch the title with the India team.

Chhetri gave India the lead after he charged in to neatly head in a delivery from Pritam Kotal on the right flank, leaving the Nepalese goalkeeper with no chance. A minute after Chhetri’s opener, another attack by India caught Nepal off-guard as Suresh found the back of the net after Yasir Mohammad brilliantly cut it back for the midfielder. There was a chance for Manvir Singh in the 52nd minute after he was played through, but his left-footed effort was blocked.

In the 79th minute, Udanta Singh took a crack at goal but Rohit Chand came up with a fine block to deny the India winger.

The title decider had remained goalless at the break as both India and Nepal could not capitalise on the chances that came their way. India could have gone ahead minutes before the half-time interval, but the ball that was delivered from the right flank for Chhetri was not met properly by the India captain. However, India more than made up for that with its second-half display, much to Stimac’s delight.

Result: Final: India 3 (S Chhetri 49, Suresh 50, Sahal 90) bt Nepal 0