A confident India take on Maldives in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Suzuki Cup with a place in the final up for grabs in the first semi-final at the Trivandrum International Stadium on Thursday 31st December 2015. The Blue Tigers would love to end 2015 on a high after the year gave them few moments to rejoice.
But as it is said, that all’s well that ends well and Team India would like to restore the lost faith if any, among its fans by booking a place in the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup.
However, it will be easier said than done for Team India against a Maldives side who recorded comfortable wins against Bangladesh and Bhutan to qualify for the semi-finals and are ranked six places above India in the FIFA rankings. India are however unbeaten in the last four games against Maldives and will be looking to make it five games when they lock horns on the final day of the year.
Kick-off & Telecast
Live Telecast – Star Sports 4/HD4 and Doordarshan (in India)
Kick-off Time – 3:30 PM IST
Venue – Trivandrum International Stadium, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Team News
India has been rocked by Robin Singh’s injury that has seen him being ruled out of the competition with an injury to his knee. "The MRI revealed that his knee problem is a bit more serious that we had expected. The doctors have advised us that he will need 10 days rest before undergoing another MRI,” Constantine revealed before the game.
“It’s a blow and a loss for us. He had started to score for the national team on a regular basis and is such a hard working guy,” he added. Robin Singh’s injury could see Constantine hand a start to young Lallianzuala who shook the Indian football fraternity with two sublime goals against Nepal.
Meanwhile, Arnab Mondal is expected to return to the lineup after sitting out against Nepal. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu too is expected to return between the sticks for the Blue Tigers, after Stephan Constantine gave Subrata Pal a chance in goal against Nepal.
Maldives
Maldives have enjoyed a good rest after their previous game and will be able to put their strongest team against India in Trivandrum on Thursday. Striker Ali Ashraf will be the first name on the Maldives sheet, as he carries their chief attacking threat, which is proven by the fact that he has already scored twice in the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015.
The rest of the team pretty much picks itself as Maldives are likely to go in with a 4-4-2 formation.
Predicted XI
Likely Starting XI (4-4-2) - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Pritam Kotal, Arnab Mondal, Augustine Fernandes, Narayan Das, Rowlin Borges, Eugensen Lyngdoh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, BikashJairu, Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua
Likely Starting XI (4-4-2) - Imran, Shaifu, Samdhooh, Amdaan, Ahmed; Assadhulla, Arif, Hamzath, Imaaz; Ashfaq, Ashadh.
Key Battles
Lallianzuala Chhangte vs Shaifu Ahmed
Young Lallianzuala Chhangte announced his arrival to Indian football in style and scored two cracking goals to help India to a 4-1 win over Nepal. The goals didn’t just make the headlines but has also given Stephan Constantine a viable option and a goal threat in Robin Singh’s absence.
Lallianzuala has pace to burn and plenty of skills up his sleeve to terrorize the Maldivian defence, but will have to keep himself focused and not get carried away by the media frenzy that surrounds him at the moment.
Lallianzuala will be up against Shaifu Ahmed who has plenty of experience playing for Maldives having played sixteen times for his national team. Shaifu will have to bring all his experience into play to deal with Lallianzuala’s quality and also probably to unsettle the youngster a bit. So for more reasons than one, this could be an interesting battle on the field
Ashfaq Ali vs Arnab Mondal
Ashfaq Ali has two goals in the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015 and is the biggest threat to India. Ashfaq is a seasoned campaigner for the island country and has scored 46 goals for them in just 62 appearances.
The task to keep Ashfaq quiet will be Arnab Mondal’s job as he will return to the Indian defence after being rested against Nepal. If India stops Ashfaq from scoring, they will have a great chance of winning the game. Arnab Mondal has been in great form in the ISL and also playing for India recently.
His form will be key to India’s chances against Maldives as he looks to lead and inspire the Indian backline to a crucial clean sheet.
Prediction
With a leaky defence, Maldives will find it hard to contain the in-form Indian attack and will find it difficult to score too many past India who are playing on home soil. The home advantage might be the deciding factor as India might just edge Maldives to a place in the SAFF Suzuki Cup Final.
India 2-1 Maldives
