India vs Nepal: Preview and Prediction
The 2023 edition of the SAFF Championship had a grand kick-off on Thursday as we witnessed a goal-fest in both fixtures of the day. An extravagant caravan of the sub-confederation tournament is now heading towards the second matchday where two neighbourhood rivals are set to set the stage ablaze.
Nepal will be summoned by the hosts India this Saturday in Match No. 6 which will be hosted by the solitary venue Sree Kanteerava Stadium of Bengaluru.
The Blue Tigers have climbed to the top of Group A after their massive triumph in the opening game of the sub-confederation competition. Igor Stimac and his boys are now just a win away from securing a top-two finish and ensuring their qualification to the penultimate stages. India being the most decorated South Asian footballing nation was already considered favourites to claim their 9th SAFF title while the recent victory has just added a cherry on top of that.
Along with India, Nepal holds the honour of being one of the only two nations that have participated in each and every SAFF Championship edition till the date. However, The Gorkhalis never managed to grace the champions podium of this competition since its inception and their best performance as the runners-up came most recently. The Italian gaffer Vincenzo Alberto Annese who spent his three years of managerial career in Indian football is spirited to pull off an upset against the All Blues.
Current Form
The Gorkhalis only got a single game to execute their preparations for the glory hunt where they squared off against the Philippines in an away international friendly fixture. As speculated, the Nepalese Red and Blues couldn’t put up a strong fight against Kuwait in the inaugural fixture of the tournament. They conceded three goals in the first 65 minutes and managed to pull off only one goal back which remained as their solitary shot on target in a 1-3 saga.
A special hat-trick on a special occasion by the Indian skipper
On the other hand, the Blue Tigers have now extended their undefeated run to 10 games in international football which commenced in June 2022. India kick-started their title-defense campaign with a thumping 4-0 triumph over the arch-rivals Pakistan who couldn’t stand upfront the wrath of Igor’s men. The legendary Indian striker Sunil Chhetri stepped up for his nation on such a big occasion and bagged a hat-trick (10′, 16′, 74′) while the final goal of the night was scored by Udanta Singh in the 81st minute.
Head-to-Head Record
These two neighbourhood countries who are known for their friendship share an intense rivalry and leave everything behind when it comes to the football field. They have faced each other 23 times on the international stage and the Blue Tigers have gone on to emerge victorious on 16 occasions. Meanwhile, the Nepalese Red and Blues only have two wins under their helm and five encounters have been consummated without any results.
The first-ever clash between India and Nepal was staged in the 1985 SAF Games where the Gorkhalis held the South Asian giants for a goalless draw but couldn’t sustain it in the further years. India is currently thriving on a nine-match undefeated streak over the Everesters as Nepal’s last win came back in the group stages of the 2013 SAFF Championship.
When Nepal managed to make their way into the SAFF Championship final for the first time, it was India who kept them away from the maiden glory. It was the most recent edition of the South Asian footballing mega-event where the Blue Tigers registered a convincing 3-0 victory. The Gorkhalis had an impressive first-half where they held the scoreline 0-0 but the deadlock was finally broken by Sunil Chhetri in the 49th minute and then the likes of Suresh Wangjam and Sahal Abdul Samad joined the goal-scoring party to claim the ninth title.
Team News
Igor Stimac made multiple changes in his starting eleven from the Intercontinental Cup final in order to rotate his roster ahead of the knockout challenge. Nikhil Poojary and Akash Mishra are expected to make a comeback in the lineup replacing the Bengali full-back duo of Pritam Kotal and Subhasish Bose who also had a fine day at the job against Pakistan. Amrinder Singh registered his fourth consecutive cleansheet and the 30-year-old Punjabi shot-stopper is expected to guard the tri-color for yet another battle.
Gorkhalis’ contention for the SAFF Championship is under the scanner
Vincenzo Annese has studied and closely monitored each and every member of the Indian roster during his coaching stint with Gokulam Kerala and NorthEast United across the two leagues. Nepal only made a single change in the first eleven which was fielded in the Philippines fixture and may not opt to stick with the same lineup in the forthcoming clash as well. Manish Dangi was preferred over Ayush Ghalan on the wings and the 21-year-old winger came very close to grace his name on the scoresheet.
Predicted Starting XIs
India (4-2-3-1): Amrinder Singh; Nikhil Poojary, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra; Jeakson Singh, Anirudh Thapa; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sahal Abdul Samad, Aashique Kuruniyan; Sunil Chhetri
Nepal (4-3-2-1): Kiran Chemjong; Sanish Shresta, Ananta Tamang, Rohit Chand, Bimal Pandey; Arik Bista, Pujan Uperkoti, Laken Limbu; Anjan Bista, Manish Dangi; Nawayug Shresta
Prediction
It is going to be a do-or-die encounter for the Gorkhalis as they have already suffered a defeat previously and another one will diminish their chances of semi-final qualification to zero. Moreover, the Indian defense department is having an Invincible run since June 2022 and it is going to be very tough for the Nepalese strike force to surge counter-attacks.
Hence there is no doubt that the Blue Tigers are the ultimate favorites to win this contest and advance to the knockout round at ease.