AFC Asian Cup Qualifier: Sunil Chhetri's lone strike helps India edge Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in hard fought encounter

In a crucial match, India defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in their second qualifier for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday. Sunil Chhetri was the lone striker in the match, which led to India’s victory.

Chhetri drilled a lot shot with his right foot off a fine pass from Jeje Lalpekhlua in the 69th minute to lead India to a crucial win in the home leg tie of the Group A third round qualifiers of the 2019 Asian Cup.

With the win, India sat atop the group with six points— from two wins—ahead of Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar who both have three points from two matches. Macau are yet to open account from their two matches.

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All the four teams will play home and away matches and the two top sides will qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup to be held in United Arab Emirates. The hosts, who had beaten Myanmar 1-0 in their first match of the qualifiers, notched up their seventh official international match on the trot.

India had come into the game after winning six official international matches on the trot, including a 2-0 victory over Nepal last week. The Stephen Constantine-coached Indian side are ranked at exactly 100 while Kyrgyzstan are 132nd in the latest FIFA rankings.

Both the sides were tied at three points each from their opening fixture wins in Group A. Two teams from each of the six groups will qualify for the 2019 tournament.

With inputs from PTI.

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