Sunil Chhetri strikes twice to make sure India make successful begin

India’s Sunil Chhetri scored twice to take his worldwide tally to 82 objectives in a 2-0 win over Cambodia on Wednesday in Kolkata as Igor Stimac’s aspect made a successful begin to the third spherical of qualifying for subsequent yr’s Asian Cup.

The 37-year-old India captain struck from the penalty spot within the thirteenth minute earlier than powering a header previous Cambodian goalkeeper Hul Kimhuy 14 minutes after the restart to present his group a successful begin in Group D.

The group hosts sit stage on three factors with Hong Kong following the primary spherical of matches as Jorn Andersen’s group held on to win 2-1 towards Afghanistan.

Only the winners of every of the six teams within the third spherical are assured to advance to the finals subsequent yr, the place they are going to be joined by the 5 runners-up with the perfect information.

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In Group B, Oday Dabbagh’s penalty 5 minutes from time earned Palestine a 1-0 win over Mongolia to place them on high of the early standings after the Philippines and Yemen shared a 0-0 draw.

🗣️ @chetrisunil11: 3️⃣ factors towards 🇰🇭 set the tone for 🇮🇳 within the #AsianCup2023 🏆 Qualifiers 🙌#INDCAM ⚔️ #AsianCup2023 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #AgainTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/AZBT1NCzzC

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 8, 2022

Uzbekistan, Asian Cup semi-finalists in 2011, cruised to a 3-0 victory over Sri Lanka of their opening sport in Group C to affix Thailand, who defeated the Maldives 3-0, on three factors on the high of the desk.

Malaysia picked up a shock 3-1 win over 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers Turkmenistan in Kuala Lumpur to take a seat on high of Group E on objective distinction from Bahrain, who earned a 2-0 victory towards Bangladesh.

Hugs from the skipper 🤗@chetrisunil11 🫂 @SureshWangjam#INDCAM ⚔️ #AsianCup2023 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #AgainTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/fJBIKuLcHb

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 8, 2022

Shervoni Mabatshoyev scored twice as Tajikistan secured a snug 4-0 win towards Myanmar in Group F whereas Singapore slipped to a 2-1 loss towards Kyrgyzstan regardless of taking the lead via Song Ui-young.

Valeri Kichin levelled for Aleksandr Krestinin’s aspect from the penalty spot with 13 minutes remaining and, 5 minutes later, Viktor Maier earned the factors for the central Asian nation.

Scenes after the Full-time whistle ♥️💯#INDCAM ⚔️ #AsianCup2023 🏆 #BlueTigers 🐯 #AgainTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/ioBNVJwvrW

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 8, 2022

Twenty-four groups will play in subsequent yr’s match, with the 12 nations that certified for the ultimate spherical of Asia’s preliminaries for the World Cup already securing their locations on the finals.

A brand new venue for the competitors has but to be decided after China withdrew from internet hosting the occasion as a result of nation’s ongoing pursuit of a zero-COVID technique.