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India started their AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers with a 2-0 victory against Cambodia in Kolkata on Wednesday. The Blue Tigers are placed in Group D of the qualifiers and have been drawn alongside Cambodia, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.
Igor Stimac's side are the favourites to top the group as they are the best-ranked team in the group and are also playing at home.
Cambodia were the underdogs today, and it showed in the way they played. The Blue Tigers took control of the game right from kick-off and tried to create openings, but the Angkor Warriors were steady defensively.
Liston Colaco was bought down inside the box in the 13th minute, and the hosts were awarded a penalty. Captain Cool Sunil Chhetri made no mistake from the penalty spot to give India the lead in the 14th minute.
After taking the lead, the home side had a lot of possession but failed to create any substantial chances. The scoreboard at halftime read 1-0 in favour of the Blue Tigers.
Igor Stimac made a couple of changes at halftime, and the Blue Tigers started the half on a similar note to the first half.
Sunil Chhetri doubled India's lead in the 60th minute with a header from a Brandon Fernandes cross. After going two goals up, the Blue Tigers made a couple of changes and looked to hold onto the lead.
Ashique Kuruniyan had an excellent chance to make it 3-0 for the Blue Tigers but failed to score.
The Blue Tigers opened their campaign with three points in their first match of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers.
On that note, let's take a look at three talking points from today's game.
#3 Mishap during the National Anthem hampers India's credibility as hosts
It all started with Cambodia raising a complaint with the AFC regarding the treatment they received upon landing in India. The problems ranged from national flag issues to accommodation. While those issues were addressed, what followed was an utter shame for India as hosts.
The stadium announcer first announced that Cambodia's anthem would be played, but what was played was the Indian National Anthem. While this wasn't such a big issue, what happened next was shameful.
While it was announced that Cambodia's national anthem would be played again, the anthem didn't play. The Angkor Warriors waited for their anthem to play, but it just didn't. After a waiting period of around five minutes, which seemed like an eternity, the anthem did finally play.
The organisers will need to be more careful so that such things aren't repeated in the upcoming games.
#2 Sunil Chhetri, the saviour once again
Sunil Chhetri, captain, leader, and legend, has been the torch bearer of Indian football for the last decade. He has pulled up the side on numerous occasions, making him the sixth-highest international goal scorer in world football.
Today was another instance when the Blue Tigers relied on their captain to score the winning goal.
Chhetri didn't have the best domestic season with Bengaluru FC and was dropped for a couple of games. The skipper bounced back in style for the national team, scoring a brace and securing victory for the Blue Tigers.
The 37-year-old scored the first goal from the penalty spot while the second was courtesy of a header from a Brandon Fernandes cross.
#1 Igor Stimac wins his first competitive game on home soil
Igor Stimac was appointed as the head coach of the Indian national team in 2019. The Croatian made a good start as the Blue Tigers' head coach by beating Thailand in Thailand in the King's Cup.
Things though started going downhill from there onwards as India failed to live up to expectations in the games that followed. In his three years as the Blue Tigers' head coach, Igor failed to win a competitive game on home soil.
The national team failed to beat the likes of Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers at home.
With the win today, the 54-year-old will breathe a sigh of relief, but to be honest, he needs to work on the team's performance. Even with the win, the Blue Tigers didn't display anything spectacular during the game against a much lower-ranked side.
