Kansas City, Missouri: India's Sunil Chhetri made his Wizards debut in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids in a US Open Cup qualifier on Tuesday, a day after his visa and international transfer certificate were cleared.
Chhetri, the first Indian in a Major League Soccer team, started and played the first half for Kansas City. He agreed to terms on March 25 and was added to the 24-man Wizards squad on Monday.
Teal Bunbury opened the scoring for the Wizards in the fourth minute but Wells Thompson scored in the 24th and 80th minutes to secure the win for the visiting team.
US fans might not know much about Chhetri, but the Indian national-team member is one of the most popular football players in his home country. The Wizards' Facebook page has added more than 6,000 fans since Chhetri signed and nearly every move he's made has been on news pages in India.
Chhetri had a decent scoring chance stopped early and received yellow card in the 20th minute for taking down Thompson from behind. He was replaced by Kei Kamara in the second half.
The US Open Cup, originally called the National Challenge Cup, is the oldest soccer competition in the United States, dating to 1914.
Comments
0 comment