Intercontinental Cup 2023 Final: India become champions, defeat Lebanon for first time in 46 years

Intercontinental Cup 2023 Final: The Indian football team on Sunday became the champions of the Intercontinental Cup as Sunil Chhetri’s men defeated Lebanon in the final of the tournament. The Indian team outclassed Lebanon in the showdown clash at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar by 2-0. The Blue Tigers have won their second title in the tournament after 2018.

Sunil Chhetri and Lallianzuala Chhangte scored one goal each after a goalless first half in the game. Chhetri scored just after the second half began, while Chhangte doubled the lead in the half part of the second half. India have defeated Lebanon for the first time since 1977.

Chhetri opened the scoresheets after a quiet first half. He received a ball from Chhangte in the 46th minute and the Indian captain put the ball past the goalkeeper. As the game progressed, Chhetri assisted the ball for Mahesh but his shot was blocked by the goal saver and this time Chhangte found the back of the net in the 65th minute to double India’s lead.

The Blue Tigers qualified for the final after topping in the league stage. Chhetri’s men won two games and played a stalemate against Lebanon in the group game. The Blue Tigers beat Mongolia and Vanuatu in the first two matches and then drew 0-0 against Lebanon to top the group stages. Lebanon also remain without a defeat in Intercontinental Cup this year with two draws and a dominant win over Vanuatu. 

Meanwhile, the Indian team has played against Lebanon eight times now and have beaten them only twice. The Lebanese side has won three times, whereas there have been three draws in the encounters between them.

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