Football: Sunil Chhetri equals Pele with 77th goal

Sunil Chhetri has equalled the legendary Pele by making the 77th international goal as his 83rd minute strike, on October 10, 2021.

Key Points

• 77^th goal by Chhetri during the strike helped India to beat Nepal by 1-0.
• This goal also saved his side from the verge of elimination in SAFF Championships.
• This achievement was made by Chhetri while playing in his 123rd match for India.
• He is now placed on joint third with Ali Mabkhout from UAE, in the list of highest scorers among active footballers.
• He is behind Cristiano Ronaldo with 112 goals and Lionel Messi with 79 goals.

About SAFF Championship 2021

Seven-time champions India has now been placed at the third place with five points from three matches in “five-team table”. India is placed below Maldives with six points from three matches and Nepal with six points from three matches. India still needs to win the final round-robin league match against hosts Maldives in order to make it for the final.

South Asian Football Federation Championship (SAFF Championship)

SAFF championship was earlier known as “South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation Gold Cup”. This championship is an international association football competition of men’s national football teams. It is governed by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seven teams namely Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are eligible to compete in this tournament. This tournament is held every two years. Afghanistan is the latest country to join SAFF in 2005. However, Afghanistan quit this association in 2015 and became a founding member of Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2021