India Wins Intercontinental Cup: A Look at their journey

India defeated Lebanon in the finals of Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 to win the title for a second time. The Blue Tigers last won the title in 2018. India defeated Lebanon in the finals by a 2-0 margin thanks to an early second-half goal from Sunil Chhetri and a 65th-minute goal from Lallianzuala Chhangte. Here is a look at the journey of India to win the Intercontinental Cup 2023.

India keeps clean sheets

In the four matches India played in the tournament, they did not concede a single goal. In the first match against Mongolia, the Blue Tigers scored two goals early in the game. The game ended 2-0 in favour of India thanks to goals from Sahal Abdul Samad in the second minute and Chhangte in the 14th minute. In the second game against Vanuatu, India once again kept a clean sheet as Mongolia failed to break their defence. The game was won by the hosts as captain Chhetri scored a late goal in the 81st minute of the game to secure three points for his side. The final league game of India ended in a goalless draw against finalists Lebanon. In the finals, India won by a 2-0 margin and kept yet another clean sheet to end the tournament without conceding a goal.

Igor Stimac

Igor Stimac, head coach of the Indian National Football Team had promised the fans a ‘Super Sunday’ against Lebanon in the finals after the goalless draw. Speaking after the goalless draw against Lebanon, coach Stimac said, “My boys created more than enough chances to win the game, and I’m sorry for them as they couldn’t score. We deserved to win as we were the better side, but it didn’t happen. I feel sorry for the fans who came in numbers. But I use this opportunity to invite them in even bigger numbers in three days. We’re going to make sure we win the next one.” Talking about the clean sheets before the finals, Stimac said, “You can see the discipline in our defending, never mind the opponent. Each one of my players did the job at the back. We knew our defensive abilities would be tested today, and that’s what happened, but we did well. Today, Lebanon had only one clear chance. Mongolia and Vanuatu had none and didn’t even come near the goal. That’s what we’re building upon — keeping clean sheets.”

Sunil Chhetri and Chhangte lead scorers

The goal scorers from the finals were the leading goal scorers of the four-nation tournament as they both scored two goals each in the tournament. Chhangte scored his first goal in the two-goal win over Mongolia in their first game and scored his second goal in the finals. Sunil Chhetri scored his first goal against Vanuatu and he scored his second goal as he opened the scoring for India in the finals.

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