SAFF Championship 2013: Afghanistan vs India – The key individual battles

Sportskeeda continues the buildup for tomorrow’s SAFF Championship 2013 final between Afghanistan and India by looking at the key individual battles.

Sanjar Ahmadi – Arnab Mondal

This will be a fascinating battle between two inexperienced yet highly talented youngsters. It can be branded as the battle of the two semi-final match winners as Ahmadi scored the decisive goal against Nepal while Arnab slotted his first international strike late in the second half against Maldives to guide India to the final.

It will be the first major international final for both players but they would have to overcome their nerves and give a strong performance. Germany-based Ahmadi is a good all-round striker and has been in better form in this calendar year than the experienced Balal Arezou.

However, the 21-year-old failed to score in the group stage and missed one glorious opportunity against Maldives. He raised his game in the semi-final though, as he showed good movement and had a physical presence. Centre-back Arnab too had some difficult moments in the group stage as he, at times, made the mistake of going for the final tackles. He was much more composed against Maldives and made quite a few important blocks and clearances in that game.

Arnab played his part in stopping Ali Ashfaq but his most important contribution was the powerful right-footed strike that won India the semi. Ahmadi is physically strong and quite mobile too so Arnab will have a really difficult task but he will also relish the challenge and look to impose himself on the Afghan forward. Ahmadi would be aiming to force Arnab into final tackles and also hold up the play well so that his midfielders can join in attack. India just can’t allow Ahmadi any time and space inside the box and Arnab must be at his best to ensure the same.

Mohammad Rafi – Lenny Rodrigues

There will be a lot of interesting duels in the middle of the park in the final but this could be the most important one. Rafi has been one of the best central midfielders of SAFF Championship 2013 and he will be aiming to for a top performance in the final with his team aiming to win their first-ever South Asian title.

On the other hand, reigning FPAI (Football Players’ Association of India) Indian Player of the Year Lenny Rodrigues had a slow start to the tournament as he wasn’t at his best in the first two games against Pakistan and Bangaldesh and was dropped from the starting eleven in the Nepal game. However, Lenny was back in the lineup against Maldives in the semis and produced a solid display. The Churchill Brothers medio did an excellent job in front of the back four and his passing was also much better.

Rafi is also a good passer of the ball and has great positional awareness. The Afghan medio’s best moment of the tournament was the goal that he scored against Sri Lanka directly from a corner but he also worked very hard against Nepal in the semi-final. The player that uses the ball better will win this battle but it would also be important to close each other down and not give any space at all. Both sides possess some good strikers so the service from midfield will be vital. Both Rafi and Lenny build the foundation for their side’s attacks and the one who does that better in this game will end up on the winning side.

Marouf Mohammadi – Nirmal Chettri

Teenager Mohammadi was suspended for the semi-finals due to double booking and thus faces competition from Amiruddin Anwar for a place in left midfield. But going by his performances in the group stage, Mohammadi should start this game. The 19-year-old was particularly impressive against Maldives, Afghanistan’s only strong opponents in the group, as he was a livewire on the left flank and created a couple of very good opportunities. Mohammadi usually looks to come inside onto his right foot but also uses his other foot well and he will be aiming to have a go at India’s right back Nirmal Chettri from the very start.

Nirmal is a much more matured player now, having had two years of international experience but the Sikkimese defender tends to make some rash challenges at times and earned two yellows in the first four games. Nirmal is very strong in the air and thus usually cuts out the long diagonal balls from other flank but will not relish being in one-on-one situations with Mohammadi. Thus the 23-year-old will have to use all his experience to get his positioning right and would also hope that he gets well protected by Francis Fernandes, who to be honest, has shown incredible work rate throughout the tournament.

Mohammadi has plenty of potential but this will be his first major international final while Nirmal is looking for a hattrick of SAFF titles so psychologically the India defender might have an edge as he should be a lot more relaxed that the Afghan wide medio. This will be an intriguing duel and it is very difficult to predict the winner.