5 players you won't believe have worse international records than Indian captain Sunil Chhetri
Indian national football team captain Sunil Chhetri has been a prolific scorer for both club and country, and he once again showed this week how special he is when he started and finished a move that ended in India's winning goal in their 1-0 win over the Kyrgyz Republic in an AFC Asian Cup 2019 Qualifier.
With 54 goals for India, Chhetri is the all-time record goalscorer in the Blue Tigers' history, making him enjoy good company alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney and Neymar Jr. That being said, Chhetri's goalscoring record for India has always divided opinions among football fans who suggest that the level of competition India face in international matches is far inferior to what Rooney's England and Neymar's Brazil face.
While that makes for a valid point, but international matches are always a difficult setting, whether they are staged in Germany or Jamaica. Chhetri's counterparts from top international teams will attest to that, therefore, undermining the 32-year-old's achievements is futile practice.
Chhetri's international goalscoring record speaks for itself, and it is no surprise that his productivity in front of goal in international football is better than many modern day greats in world football. Here are the five players you won't believe have worse international goalscoring records than India's Captain Fantastic.
#1 Lionel Messi – Argentina
Although Messi has more international goals for Argentina than Chhetri has for India, La Pulga's 58 goals for his country have come at a worse rate than Chhetri. The Indian captain has scored his international goals at a rate of 0.57 goals per game, which is better than Messi's 0.50 per game.
Messi has taken 117 matches to score his 58 goals, while Chhetri's 54 goals have been scored in only 94 games.