Intercontinental Cup: Indian Football Team defeated Lebanon 2-0 to clinch the Intercontinental Cup

Skipper Sunil Chhetri rose to the occasion with his 87th international goal as India won the Intercontinental Cup with a 2-0 victory over Lebanon in the final in Bhubaneshwar on Sunday. Lallianzuala Chhangte struck the evening's other goal to cap an impressive display. This is India's second title triumph in the tournament, following their win in the inaugural edition in 2018. Korea won in 2019.

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India defeated Lebanon for the first time since 1977. Both teams were able to balance each other out in the first half, which ended scoreless. Goals from Sunil Chhetri in the 46th minute and Lallianzuala Chhangte in the 65th minute gave Igor Stimac's team the victory. It was also a solid defensive performance, as India preserved its sixth straight clean sheet and entered the SAFF Championship in 2023 with assurance.

The Blue Tigers' manager Igor Štimac was confident before going into the Final. Fans were questioning if India were playing so defensively but he was satisfied with his team's performance as they were defensively solid and making lots of chances. The last clash between these two teams ended in a draw but the wingers and midfield provided balls. Even against Vanuatu, India scored only a single goal but created plenty of chances. It happened today also but this time, the players delivered.

None other than the skipper, Chhetri opened the scoring for the Blue Tigers and gave the lead right after half-time. Poojary showed good skill to slip the ball to Chhangte through a tight space. Chhangte made a bursting run and squared the ball to Chhetri, who slotted it home from a close distance.

Lallianzuala Chhangte doubled the lead after 19 minutes from the opener. Mahesh did well to get a cracking shot away from inside the Lebanon box. Sabeh made the save but couldn't hold on to the ball. Chhangte was the first to reach the ball and lashed it inside the net from a close distance. Chhangte won the Man of the Match award as he provided an assist and also scored a decisive goal in the Final of the Intercontinental Cup.