Intercontinental Cup 2023: Sunil Chhetri Scores India's Lone Goal In Win Over Vanuatu

Charismatic captain and soon-to-be father Sunil Chhetri played the role of saviour to perfection once again as he scored the lone goal in India's 1-0 win over lower-ranked Vanuatu in the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Chhetri struck in the 81st minute to settle the nerves of the Indians -- both players and fans -- at the Kalinga Stadium to put the home side in a strong position for a spot in the final. India had earlier beaten Mongolia 2-0 in their opening match on Friday.

The 38-year-old Chhetri, who consolidated his place as the third-most prolific active player with his 86th-minute strike in his 135th international match, celebrated the goal by letting the world know that he is going to be a father soon as he slid the ball below his jersey and into his belly. His wife Sonam was shown clapping on the big screen.

With six points from two wins, India are currently on top of the table. They play Lebanon on Thursday in their last round-robin league match.

The 101st-ranked India were clearly the better side in the first half with 62 per cent ball possession and at least a dozen attempts on opposition goal but most of them were off target. Vanuatu, ranked 164th in the world, did not have a single shot on target in the first half.

Debutant Nandhakumar Sekar had a decent outing as he was in the thick of things in the middle of the park and was involved in several Indian build-ups.

But he wasted India's lone real chance of the first session, hitting wide off a fine through ball from Mahesh Naorem in the 36th minute.

Naorem was a real threat for the Vanuatu defence as another of his measured crosses from the right found Chhetri in the clear in the 40th minute but the ball flew inches above the India captain's