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What's the story?
Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri has made it equal to yet another footballing great with his goal-scoring exploits. This time it is former Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose international tally Chhetri has matched and will be looking to surpass in the near future.
In case you didn't know...
Chhetri currently stands in the third place, in the list of active international goalscorers. He is only behind, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Messi has scored 64 goals for Argentina, Ronaldo has netted 81 times for Portugal. Sunil Chhetri, on the other hand, has scored 62 goals in 101 appearances for the Blue Tigers.
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Heart of the matter
Chhetri was in the headlines all through the previous week due to various reasons. After scoring a hattrick in India's opening Intercontinental Cup 2018 game, Chhetri surpassed David Villa's international goal tally and became the third highest active international goalscorer.
Chhetri then appealed to the nation to come and support the Indian team in the stadium, a plea to which fans responded whole-heartedly. Chhetri would then go on to make his hundredth appearance for the Blue Tigers.
Without a doubt, the Indian skipper had one of the most interesting weeks of his life. Now, Chhetri has gone and made it even better, after equalling Zlatan Ibrahimovic's international tally.
With a bit of fortune on his side, Chhetri netted his 62nd goal for India when the New Zealand keeper's clearance hit Chhetri and went into the goal. However, he could not prevent India from losing the match by two goals to one.
Chhetri is now on the same number of international goals as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a tally he is expected to pass due to the Swede's exclusion from the World Cup squad.
What's next?
Chhetri and Co. are fully expected to play in the Intercontinental Cup final. The Blue Tigers are then expected to play a couple of friendly games before heading to the United Arab Emirates for the AFC Asian Cup, early next year.
Can Chhetri continue his fine goalscoring form in the coming yers as well? Sound off your opinion in the comments section below!
