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The twelfth edition of South Asia's premier tournament will feature seven countries- hosts Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and Maldives. The teams are divided into two groups A and B with Group A consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan whereas Group B comprises of the defending champions India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, the winners of which will meet in the summit-clash on September 15 in Dhaka.
Team India will take on Sri Lanka in their opening fixture on September 5 before their final group game against Maldives four days later. India, who won the last edition in December 2015 - January 2016, have a bright chance to defend their title this time. Let us now look at three reasons why the Blue Tigers will successfully defend their SAFF Championship title.
Team India squad for the 2018 SAFF Championship:
Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Kabir Thaufiq, Kamaljit Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill.
Defenders: Nishu Kumar, Umesh Perambra, Davinder Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Lalruatthara, Subhasish Bose, Jerry Lalrinzuala.
Midfielders: Vinit Rai, Germanpreet Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Arjun Jayaraj, Nikhil Poojari, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Nandha Kumar, Udanta Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan, Vignesh D, Rahim Ali.
Forwards: Sumeet Passi, Daniel Lahlimpuia, Hitesh Sharma, Alen Deory, Manvir Singh, Kivi Zhimomi, Rahul KP.
#3) Young and highly talented squad
Coach Stephen Constantine announced a 34 man squad for the 2018 edition of the SAFF Championship which will be held in Bangladesh from September 4 to 15. Many Team India regulars were left out of the squad including talisman Sunil Chhetri, star defender Sandesh Jhingan and shot-stopper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The squad comprises of four Under 19 players who represented India at the 2017 FIFA Under 17 World Cup held in India-Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Rahim Ali and Rahul KP, all of whom are part of AIFF’s developmental team Indian Arrows who ply their trade in the I-League.
Apart from these four highly talented Under 19 players, the squad comprises of 29 Under-23 players with forward Sumeet Passi being the exception (senior player). Highly rated FC Pune City goalkeeper Vishal Kaith has also been drafted in for the tournament. The defense looks so strong even in the absence of stars like Jhingan and Anas with young players like Lalruatthara, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Nishu Kumar and Subhasish Bose making the cut. The midfield looks absolutely stunning with ISL winning Chennaiyin FC stars Anirudh Thapa, Germanpreet Singh, the pacy Bengaluru FC boy Udanta Singh, and bright prospects Lallianzuala Chhangte and Ashique Kuruniyan.
The forward comprises of ATK youngster Hitesh Sharma, Daniel Lahlimpuia, Manvir Singh, Kivi Zhimomi, Rahul KP, and Alan Deory. With a large pool of highly talented players, the squad couldn't have been any better without most of the seniors. Most of these players made the squad on the basis of exceptional performances for their respective clubs (ISL and I-League). Watch out for the pacy and highly skilled youngsters as they represent India for the South Asian glory this September.
#2) Form and history favour the Blue Tigers
The Blue Tigers who are currently ranked 97 in the FIFA rankings were on a thirteen match unbeaten run until their loss against Kyryz Republic at Bishkek (away) this March. That astonishing feat started on June 2, 2016 after their win against Laos in the play-off round for AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. India qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after topping Group A with four wins out of six matches (four wins, one draw and one loss) during the qualifiers. Team India won the title at the 2018 Intercontinental Cup held in Mumbai from June 1-10. The tournament which comprised of four teams from four different confederations saw India locking horns with Kenya, Chinese Taipei, and New Zealand.
In the four matches they played, India scored 11 goals while conceding just two. With that convincing win in the four tournaments, India are undoubtedly a force to reckon with at the SAFF Championship. Also, the fact that Team India are the most successful nation at the South Asian tournament augurs well for them. Having won the title a record seven times in eleven editions so far, the Blue Tigers are the hot favourites to retain their crown this time. They won the last edition in January 2016, defeating the Afghans 2-1 in the finals. India, who have participated in all the eleven editions of the tournament so far have won 29 out of the 46 matches played- losing 7 while drawing 10. With form and history favouring them, they might once again go all the way this year.
#1) More determined to conquer South Asia before the big Asian challenge
Team India will be very much determined to win the 2018 SAFF Championship before they head to the United Arab Emirates for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January 2019. A South Asian level crown will surely give them the much-needed momentum going into a high-magnitude continental tournament like the Asian Cup.
India will be up against the Asian heavyweights early next year- the likes of hosts UAE, Bahrain and Thailand before even the knockout stages (if they qualify). So, they will be looking to make the most of the SAFF championship opportunity to fine-tune them for the bigger Asian challenge in 2019. Also, with the majority of players are young in the SAFF cup squad they will be looking to impress gaffer Constantine to have any chance of a dream AFC Cup spot.
