- Sunil Chhetri scored in the 83rd minute to give India a 1-0 victory over Nepal.
- This was Chhetri's 77th international goal, tying him with Pele.
- In the list of highest scores, he is tied for third with UAE's Ali Mabkhout (77).
Latest Football Results: Sunil Chhetri equalled the famous Pele with his 77th international goal in the 83rd minute of India's 1-0 win over Nepal in the SAFF Championships, saving his team from elimination.
Sunil Chhetri, India's talismanic captain, equalled the great Pele with his 77th international goal on Sunday, when his 83rd-minute strike helped India overcome Nepal 1-0 and spared his team from elimination in the SAFF Championships.
The 37-year-old Chhetri, who was playing in his 123rd match for India, scored a late goal to equalise with Brazil's great (77 goals from 92 matches). He is presently tied for third place with Ali Mabkhout (77) of the United Arab Emirates on the list of active footballers' top scorers, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (112) and Lionel Messi (79).
Late in the game, substitute Farukh Chaudhary won a header from a long throw-in and guided it to the heart of the six-yard box, where Chhetri was in the ideal spot to blast the ball past Nepal goalkeeper Kiran Limbu.
India, the seven-time champion, is presently in third place in the five-team table, with five points from three matches, behind Maldives (six points from three matches) and Nepal (six points from three matches), according to the football live scores yesterday.
If India is to advance to the October 16 final, they must win their last round-robin league match on Wednesday against hosts Maldives.
India would have been eliminated if they had drawn against Nepal. After drawing with lower-ranked Bangladesh (1-1) and Sri Lanka (0-0) in their previous matches, the Indian squad and head coach Igor Stimac were under pressure.
In the 70th minute, Chaudhary came on as a replacement for Mohd. Yasir. India was the superior team throughout the encounter, creating several opportunities.
However, they were unable to complete the task in the limited opportunities they were given.
In the first half, Chhetri had also wasted a golden chance to score. Prior to Sunday's victory, India had drawn 0-0 with Nepal and defeated the Himalayan nation 2-0 in their earlier matches this year.