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Coming at the heels of the World Cup final in Russia, it's going to be a busy day in Kolkata for the East Bengal and Tata Football Academy Colts. The journey of the two teams in IFA Shield so far has been quite contrasting. East Bengal has been able to register resounding victories in the group stage matches while Tata Football Academy has had to face some resistance.
East Bengal would look to continue the run that they have had so far. In their first game of the tournament, they thrashed Burnpur 6-1, while in their second and third game, they beat ATK and Mohammaden convincingly to chart their path to the semi-final.
Meanwhile, in their very first match against Bengal Football Academy, Tata Football Academy scrambled through with a 4-3 victory. In their second encounter -- against the Churchill brothers -- they performed well to score 4 goals without any answer from the opposition; but in the third group stage match, they had to taste defeat at the hands of Mohun Bagan.
Since 2015, when the IFA decided that this tournament will be played by U-19 teams of the respective clubs, there have been three different winners each year. East Bengal have made it to the final, but have not won it. Playing with home turf advantage, they would look to progress to the final again. Tata Football Academy, on the other hand, have been the champions in 2016.
This should be a very tight game as both the sides are highly competitive and promises to be an IFA Shield classic!
Here's all the information you need to know:
Tournament name: IFA Shield 2018
Date: July 16, 2018
Match: East Bengal vs Tata Football Academy
Time: 2:30 PM IST
Venue: East Bengal Sports Ground
Broadcast: Not being televised
Live Stream: No live stream
You can catch all the LIVE updates of the Semifinal on Sportskeeda!
Will East Bengal make it through to the Finals or will The Tata Football Academy players pull out something special from their kitty to produce an upset? Do let us know what you think in the comments section below.
