Fresh after the resounding success at the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, India will begin its quest for a second title in less than a month when it takes on Pakistan in the SAFF Championship opener here on Wednesday.
India, the defending champion and eight-time winner, will be returning to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium after more than five and a half years. The last match was in October 2017 against Macau, a 4-1 win which sealed India’s spot in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
When India takes the field this time, Asian Cup will once again be in focus, for the SAFF event will form an important competition in the lead-up to the 2023 edition.
“They have six or seven players who have developed abroad. There are two players playing in England, one in Denmark in the first tier. So let’s not speak about rankings.”Igor Stimac, India’s head coach about Pakistan
“The intercontinental success helped us come to a point where we can say we are happy with the performances,” said India head coach Igor Stimac, on Tuesday. “The first step is to get there and the next is to repeat it from game to game.
“We can still expect some drop of form for certain positions until we get to a point where we can expect all our players to be consistent and keep the level high. So the mood is good but this is a fresh tournament, new teams are here, a new approach and new climate conditions.
India comes into the SAFF Championship after winning the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar on June 18. | Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout / The Hindu
“We come from 40 degrees (in Orissa) to this English weather. It’s beautiful for football but will take us a few days to settle down.”
On paper, the Pakistan tie is winnable. India’s South Asian neighbour is ranked 195, 94 places below India, and lost all three matches against Kenya, host Mauritius and Djibouti at the recently held four-nation tournament.
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It is also set to start the match with hardly any practise, for it would have arrived in Bengaluru only in the wee hours of Wednesday because of a delay in visa approval. There is however some interest in Easah Suliman, a former England U-20 captain, who is now playing for Pakistan.
Stimac mentioned the 25-year-old fleetingly and said that Pakistan could well be the “surprise of the tournament.”
“I watched the game Pakistan played against Kenya, which is No. 102 and Pakistan were the better side, away from home” Stimac said. “They created the better chances and they were more aggressive. They were defending from deeper positions but they were coming forward quickly with some quality.
“They have six or seven players who have developed abroad. There are two players playing in England, one in Denmark in the first tier. So let’s not speak about rankings. We have very serious competition and tough and tough opponents.”
Sunil Chhetri & Co. will no doubt be bolstered by crowd support. A match against Pakistan, regardless of the sport, needs no invitation, and authorities said more than 10,000 tickets had already been sold.
It’s a relief that the geopolitical tensions that plague cricketing ties between the countries haven’t quite percolated to football and the hope is for fans to experience some riveting action.
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