Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Indian National Team went down fighting 1-2 against Maldives in the Final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka today (September 15, 2018).

Maldives scored a goal-a-piece in either half, and the only Indian goal came in the added extra time of the second handed courtesy of a Sumeet Passi strike as the Isanders went on to win the SAFF Trophy.

The Indians however, started on a positive note but a couple of brilliantly executed counter attacks and a resilient defensive display from the Islanders shattered the defending champions’ dream of clinching their record eighth SAFF title.

India were the brighter side at the starting of the match as they continued to push Maldives to their limit until they scored against the run of the play in the 19th minute. On a quick counter-attacking move, Naiz Hussain played a deft delivery to Ibrahim Hussain only to see him gleefully score the opener before the 20-minute mark. Meanwhile, this was the first instance in the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018 where India were trailing against their opponents.

India, in their pursuit of the equaliser, came close quite a few times but the attackers were missing the finesse in front of the opposition goal. On the half-hour mark, Ashique delivered a low cross from the left flank directed to Farukh who lost his balance to lose the opportunity. On the resultant corner, Subhasish jumped to head it home but the Maldivian goalie Mohamed Faisal fisted the danger away.

One minute later, Manvir Singh, who happened to be the reigning highest scorer of SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018, latched on another attack but it rippled the side-netting. India headed to the changing room trailing by the solitary goal.

Maldives doubled their lead in the 68th minute only to add a pinch of salt to India’s wounds. On another quick counter-attacking move, Hamzath Mohamed outran the Indian defence line to glide it on to an onrushing Ali Fasir who poked it home to send the Maldives bench into a rupture.

Subhasish got another tantalisingly appealing chance to breach the Maldivian defense from a well-taken corner by Hitesh in the 79th minute. He was left completely unmarked and a tap-in could have done the trick for the boys in Blue but the skipper mistimed it to see the ball go out of bounce.

Sumeet Passi sprung some life into the game having scored a goal for India in the added time but it was too late to deny the inevitable. On a cross from the right wing by Nikhil, Sumeet tucked it in to breach the sturdy Maldivian defense finally. The Maldivian goalie came out with another couple of terrific saves to deny the Indians to clinch their second SAFF Championship trophy.

(AIFF Media)

The Team

India: Vishal Kaith (GK), Davinder Singh (Germanpreet Singh 46′), Sarthak Golui, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhasish Bose (C), Nikhil Poojary, Anirudh Thapa (Hitesh Sharma 73′), Vinit Rai, Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Choudhary (Sumeet Passi 68′), Manvir Singh

Final Score: India 1 (Sumeet Passi 90+1’) lost to Maldives 2 (Ibrahim Hussain 19′, Ali Fasir 73′)

Dhaka, Bangladesh: Two delectable strikes from magical Manvir Singh and an opportunistic header from substitute Sumeet Passi helped defending champions India breeze past Pakistan 3-1 to romp into the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday (September 12, 2018).

After a goalless first-half, Manvir scored his first in the 49th minute only to double the score-line twenty minutes later. Substitute Passi sealed the fate of the match in the 83rd minute. For Pakistan Hassan Bashir reduced the margin in the 88th minute.

India will now meet Maldives in the summit clash on September 15 (Saturday) who made short work of Nepal 3-0 in the first semi-final.

The first goal came off a brilliant counter-attack. Ashique Kuruniyan, relying on his signature pace ran past everyone down the left and unleashed a low cross which was gleefully tapped in by Manvir to set the Indian fans berserk.

If that was good, the second goal was even better.

Lalliazuala Chhangte who replaced Nikhil Poojary in the 68th minute made an immediate impact as India doubled the lead. The super-sub made a blistering run down the middle of the pitch, sidestepped two defenders and passed it to Vinit Rai. The midfielder on turn rolled it to Manvir who blasted it home from top of the box.

However, following a challenge, Manvir was substituted as Stephen Constantine brought in Sumeet Passi.

The former AIFF Academy cadet took less than a minute to join the party as he found the target in the 83rd. Ashique, the architect of the first goal, made an identical run down the flank to deliver it for Passi who headed home clinically.

However, India received a blow as Chhangte was given marching orders for an off the ball offence on Mohsin Ali. Mohsin was also red-carded for his challenge.

Earlier, India had the first opportunity of the game in the 10th minute itself but that time Manvir wasn’t able to connect Ashique’s perfect cross.

Seasoned Pakistan goalkeeper Yusuf Butt also came up with some spectacular saves to keep the Indians at bay in the first-half – the most notable being his save to deny Subhashish Bose’s volley off an Anirudh Thapa corner.

India survived a scare in the 39th minute when Pakistan earned an indirect free-kick at the edge of the 6-yard box but Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith came up with back to back saves to deny Pakistan.

(AIFF Media)

The Team

India: Vishal Kaith (GK), Davinder Singh, Sarthak Golui, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhasish Bose (C), Nikhil Poojary (Lallianzuala Chhangte 68′), Anirudh Thapa, Vinit Rai, Ashique Kuruniyan (Vignesh D. 89′), Manvir Singh (Sumeet Passi 82′), Farukh Choudhary

India 3 (Manvir Singh 49’, 69’, Sumeet Passi 83’) b Pakistan 1 (Hassan Bashir 88’)

Dhaka: A day ahead of India’s semi-final clash against Pakistan in the SAFF Suzuki Cup semi-final, India National Team’s Assistant Coach Venkatesh Shanmugam lauded Pakistan for their “character” and reaching the semi-finals coming back from a 3-year suspension.

“They (Pakistan) have been thorough and sharp on the pitch. It’s not an easy job to reach to the semi-finals after a 3-year-long break. But they have made it possible, and that too in some style,” Venkatesh echoed.

“Reaching the last four after a gap of 13 years shows their character and how motivated they are. We respect them as our opponents and it’s going to be a tough game for us,” he uttered in the official pre-match press conference.

“We understand that there is a lot of madness around this fixture but we are considering this just as another match. We have to get the job done. Only then we stand in with a chance to retain the SAFFSuzuki Cup, Venkatesh, a former Indian National Team Captain stated.

India have had the upper hand against Pakistan in Footballing encounters having won 18 out of the 31 encounters so far. Even in the SAFF Championship, India have won 4 of the 7 encounters against Pakistan.

“But all of that is history. We have come here with a young squad and we are focusing on providing the boys an opportunity at the International stage. We can never be labelled as favourites. But yeah, we have a strong intent to win it,” he mentioned.

On the other hand, Pakistan skipper Saddam Hossain showed his respect for India and said that the Indian youngsters have “enough potential and intelligence.”

“We have immense respect for India. They have come with a young team but we have seen their athletic prowess during the group stage. They have enough potential and intelligence to outplay their opponents on a given day,” Hossain commented.

Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira stated that in spite of being well aware of the fanfare around the fixture, they are unfazed and focusing on just the game.

“It’s going to be my first experience of an India-Pakistan match but I have been well acquainted with this sort of rivalry. But we have to concentrate on our game and stick to the plans to churn out a positive result,” Nogueira commented.

Hossain mentioned that Pakistan have never been able to reach SAFF Championship final and now they will fight tooth and nail to break the jinx.

“Yes, it hurts. But we’ll fight till the end to make it possible this time. We have faced quite a few difficulties in the last 3 years but now, we are trying to bounce back.”

The match is scheduled to kick-off at IST 7 pm and will be telecast live on D Sport.

(AIFF Media)

Dhaka: He is a former Indian Captain and is the currently the Assistant Coach of the Indian Senior National Team. Shanmugam Venkatesh who led India in the last bilateral series against Pakistan in Pakistan in 2005 feels all matches against Pakistan is primarily a “psychological battle.”

“Be it a player or a layman, everyone gets to feel the heat when an India-Pakistan match is scheduled. Everyone gets into the zone before the match,” Venky-bhai as he’s fondly called by the players, opined.

“In India, we are acquainted with the rivalry between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. At the international stage, everyone regards the India-Pakistan fixture very highly. This battle is primarily a psychological one. The mindset of the team decides whether they’ll prevail or not,” he added.

“Players will need to understand the importance of the fixture. They need to grasp every single aspect of the game. Is it a home game or an away one? Which tournament are they playing?” Venkatesh stated.

On being asked about his personal memories of playing Pakistan, the 40-year-old quipped: “I still remember my first Pakistan match. We played them in Goa — it was SAFF Championship 1997 which we went on to eventually win,” he recollected.

“We had a clinical game and won 2-0 at the end. Technically, maybe we were superior but as I said before, the game relies on the steel nerve mentality of the team.”

The three-time SAFF Champion (1997, 1999, 2005) also ended up on the losing side once out of the seven matches he played against Pakistan.

“I played 7 matches against Pakistan and lost once. That was in the Friendship Cup in 2005. We drew and won the other two matches. The series ended 1-1 but after the loss, it was like the end of the world for us. Such was the reaction from everyone,” he smiled.

This Friendship Cup was also significant to have seen a youngster scoring his maiden goal for the country on his debut in front of a legion of Pakistan supporters on their own soil – Sunil Chhetri.

(AIFF Media)

Dhaka, Bangladesh: India defeated Maldives 2-0 to book a semi-final clash with arch rivals Pakistan in the SAFF Suzuki Cup. The semi-final which will be the first official meeting of the two teams after a gap of 5 years will be played at Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Stadium on Wednesday (September 12, 2018).

The last time the two teams had met in an official match was also in a SAFF Championship in Kathmandu in September 2013. India had won 1-0 on that occasion.

On Sunday (September 9), maiden International goals from Nikhil Poojary (36th) and Manvir Singh (45th) helped India to finish on pole position in Group B on 6 points.

Nikhil could have scored the opener in the 11th minute itself but despite getting all the power behind his header off an Anirudh Thapa cross, it sailed over.

Nikhil and Lallianzuala Chhangte were constantly swapping positions on the wings and that stretched the rival defence. India eventually surged into the lead in the 36th minute. Nikhil played a one-two with Farukh and as the rival defender despite intercepting it fumbled a bit, Nikhil pounced on the loose ball and placed it delectably past the rival Goalkeeper Mohamed Faisal.

Manvir doubled the lead almost at the stroke of interval. Thapa, a bit off-balanced with a rival midfielder shadowing him, managed to essay a gem of a pass for Manvir who sidestepped the onrushing Faisal and pushed it in.

Changing over, Nikhil stayed a constant threat to the Maldives defence all throughout. In the 64th minute, a cross from him down the right was averted by an acrobatic Faisal.

Maldives, meanwhile, continued to look to reduce the margin and had not Jerry Lalrinzuala intercepted in time in the 73rd minute, they could have had a shot at the Indian goal.

The Indian defenders didn’t allow them much space to maneuver. In the 78th minute an alert Indian Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith was quick to come off his line, in fact, outside the box to clear in time. Kaith’s reflexes allowed India to maintain a clean slate, the lanky custodian coming up with a couple of saves in the last 5 minutes.

(AIFF Media)

The Team

India: Vishal Kaith (GK); Davinder Singh, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhasish Bose, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Nikhil Poojary (Hitesh Sharma 86′), Anirudh Thapa (C), Vinit Rai, Lallianzuala Chhangte (Vignesh D. 46′), Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary (Sumeet Passi 67′)

Final Score: India 2 (Nikhil Poojary 36’, Manvir Singh’) b Maldives 0

Dhaka, Bangladesh: A dominant India began their campaign for the SAFF Suzuki Cup in style when they made short of Sri Lanka 2-0 in their opening fixture at the Bangabandhu Stadium here on Wednesday (September 5, 2018)

A goal each from Ashique Kuruniyan (35th) and Lalianzuala Chhangte (47th) in each half settled the issue for the defending champions.

India started the game on a high tempo and Ashique showed his intention within two minutes of the match when he latched the first attack from the left flank.

India, fielding the youngest team in the competition, barged on numerous attacks on the rival citadel but the Islanders kept them away from opening the scoring until the 36th minute when Ashique Kuruniyan sped past his marker and slotted it home past a diving keeper for his first International goal.

Almost immediately after, India came close to doubling the lead but Chhangte’s narrow miss, and a number of acrobatic saves by the Sri Lankan goalie kept the scoresheet unchanged.

After the breather, India took less than 120 seconds to score the second. Chhangte’s deep cross from the left wing was misread by the Sri Lankan goalie and it handed India a 2-0 lead.

Chhangte, by that time, had changed flanks and looked more effective down the left, the Islanders having a torrid time to keep him in check.

Nikhil Poojary, who had a season-long injury lay-off was introduced after the hour-mark and tried his luck off a corner off a Thapa corner but it sailed over the crossbar.

Farukh Chowdhury and substitute Manvir Singh also had their chances but were unable to cash in despite staying in advantageous positions. First, Farukh blasted into the crossbar in the 75th minute, and off the rebound, Manvir missed to connect it properly to find the third goal.

Courtesy the victory, India stay on top of Group B and they next take on Maldives in their next match on September 9, 2018.

(AIFF Media)

The Team

India: Vishal Kaith (GK), Sarthak Golui, Sajid Dhot, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhasish Bose (C), Lallianzuala Chhangte, Germanpreet Singh, Anirudh Thapa (Vinit Rai 78’), Ashique Kuruniyan (Nikhil Poojary 57’), Farukh Choudhary, Sumeet Passi (Manvir Singh 70’)

Final Score: India 2 (Ashique Kuruniyan 36’, Lalianzuala Chhangte 47’) b Sri Lanka 0

New Delhi: A 22-member India National Team squad will travel to Australia on August 17, 2018 as part of their preparation for the forthcoming SAFF Suzuki Cup. The squad has been camping in Delhi since July 28, 2018.

The Indian U-23 squad will be based at the Valentine Sports Park in Sydney for another 16-day long preparatory camp before they eventually leave for Dhaka on September 1, 2018.

“The exposure trip was planned before the Asian Games but unfortunately, we were barred from taking part in the Games. We didn’t see any reason to cancel the trip and had to postpone it prior to the SAFF Tournament,” Head Coach Stephen Constantine informed.

Apart from the 22 players, 2 players have been kept in reserves who might get a call-up to join the contingent in Australia if circumstances demand so, 20 boys will eventually travel for the SAFF Suzuki Cup.

Constantine also thanked the clubs for releasing the players from their club commitments giving the National Duty more priority.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the clubs for letting the players join the more-than-a-month long National Team Camp. We need such support from them until the AFC Asian Cup 2019. It’s good for the country as well as the clubs. I appreciate that”, he added.

“Although we didn’t qualify for the AFC U23 Championship, these boys showed good signs in Qatar last year. A few new boys have come and they’re putting in an effort to integrate with the other boys.”

“It’s a group of talented youngsters and I believe a good number of players will graduate to the senior team in time,” the Coach mentioned.

On being asked whether the U23 boys will be under pressure against the Senior Teams in the SAFF Suzuki Cup, he explained: “I take it as a challenge for us. If the senior boys compete in the SAFF Tournament, these young boys won’t get the opportunity to play anytime soon. I think this tournament should be treated as a platform to give more exposure to the U23 boys which will be beneficial for India in future.”

Travelling Squad

Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Kamaljit Singh, Sukhdev Patil

Defenders: Davinder Singh, Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Subhasish Bose, Mohd. Sajid Dhot, Jerry Lalrinzuala

Midfielders: Nikhil Poojary, Isaac Vanmalswama, Nandha Kumar, Vinit Rai, Germanpreet Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan, Vignesh D

Forwards: Sumit Passi, Hitesh Sharma, Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary

Reserves: Lalruatthara, Rohit Kumar

Head Coach: Stephen Constantine

(AIFF Media)

New Delhi: Promising youngster Nikhil Poojary wholeheartedly thanked All India Football Federation for staying by his side during his rehabilitation days before making a comeback in the ongoing National Team camp in New Delhi.

“I feel short of words to thank AIFF for staying by my side during those awful days. Initially, I couldn’t imagine that AIFF will provide me with such a strong support to get me back to the field,” Poojary expressed during a media interaction on the sidelines of the ongoing preparatory Camp for the forthcoming SAFF Suzuki Cup.

The 22-year-old Mumbai-based player made his professional debut for East Bengal in the 2016-17 season before making his international debut for India U-23 National Team in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers in Doha where his sparkling performance down the flanks earned him huge plaudits. Soon after, his career faced a jolt when he injured himself in the CFL 2017-18.

“After the eventful 2016-17 season, I hit the rock owing to the injury next season. Initially, I didn’t have the slightest idea how serious the injury was. But the MRI report showed that there was a tear, turning out to be ACL in my left leg,” Poojary informed.

“I would like to thank Gigy (George)-Sir, Danny (Deigan) and Coach (Stephen Constantine) for backing me during my rehab. Coach had himself suffered from ACL during his playing days hence, he could connect to my worries easily.”

“Honestly, I was not expecting to get a call-up in this camp but Coach showed his faith in me. Herein lies the challenge for me. All the boys are super-fit and I have no other option but to be on par with them. Come what may, I have to push my limits and perform well. It’s a great opportunity and I would not leave this one wasted. I need to make it count,” Poojary sounded determined.

On being asked about the mood of the camp, he revealed: “Coach always prefers high-intensity games and motivates us to push more during the training sessions. I was not expecting to join the training before August 18 August but thanks to everyone’s blessing and cohesive effort, I could join two weeks prior. I was nervous at the starting but after a few sessions, I started feeling positive.”

India will play their first match against Sri Lanka in the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018 in Dhaka on September 5, 2018.

(AIFF Media)

New Delhi: Four U-19 players who represented India in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 have been summoned by National Coach Stephen Constantine for the preparatory camp for the SAFF Championship.

The four U-19 players — Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Rahim Ali and Rahul KP — all of whom are part of AIFF’s developmental team Indian Arrows will be reporting to the Camp in Delhi from July 28 onwards, along with 30 others.

Among the others, 29 are current U-23 players with Sumeet Passi being the sole senior player (above 23) named in the list of 34 probables.

India, the defending champions, have been clubbed in Group B along with Maldives and Sri Lanka and play their first match against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh (venue not yet announced) on September 6. The final is slated on September 15.

Constantine stressed it’s important to see whether the youngsters are up to the challenge or not.

“We are always looking down to the age groups to see if these players can make the step up the ladder. I have always put a great deal of importance on the youth and have stuck to the same philosophy — this camp is no different. Quite a few youngsters have been provided with a chance to prove their worth,” he added.

“Heading to a tournament with such a young team is going to be a challenge but that’s what we want. We want to find out that particular player who can push the extra bit to achieve the desired result, who can take up the extra responsibility to force himself into the team.”

The Probables

Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Toufik Kabir, Kamaljit Singh, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill

Defenders: Nishu Kumar, Umesh Perambhara, Davinder Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Lalruatthara, Subhasish Bose, Jerry Lalrinzuala

Midfielders: Nikhil Poojary, Isaac Vanmalswama, S Nandha Kumar, Udanta Singh, Vinit Rai, Germanpreet Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Arjun Jayaraj, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan, Vignesh D, Rahim Ali

Forwards: Sumit Passi, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Hitesh Sharma, Alen Deory, Manvir Singh, Kivi Zhimomi, Rahul KP

Head Coach: Stephen Constantine

(AIFF Media)