Sunil Chhetri: Journey to 150 appearances for the Blue Tigers

Where it all started - Chhetri scored a goal in his debut senior appearance for India against Pakistan on June 12, 2005

The 2007 Nehru Cup was Chhetri’s first senior title. He went on to win the tournament again in 2009 and 2012

In the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, Chhetri scored a hat-trick in the final against Tajikistan, which helped India win the title

Chhetri was named national team captain in 2011. That year he set a new record by scoring seven goals in a single edition of the SAFF Championship, surpassing I. M. Vijayan‘s record of six in the 97th edition

In June 2018, Chhetri scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win against Chinese Taipei in the Intercontinental Cup, but seeing a poor turnout, he appealed to fans to come and support Indian football

On his 100th international appearance, he got the best gift as fans turned up in numbers to witness India beat Kenya 3–0. Chhetri scored twice

On June 18, 2023, Chhetri scored the opening goal in the 2–0 win against Lebanon in the Intercontinental Cup final

In the same month, Chhetri guided India to a record-extending ninth SAFF championship. He scored five goals, becoming the top-scorer of the 2023 edition

Chhetri is India’s highest goal-scorer with 94 goals. He has won 11 titles with the Blue Tigers at the senior level

Chhetri is currently the third-highest active international goalscorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo (128) and Lionel Messi (109)