Defending champions India will play the Maldives in the final of the 2018 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh on Saturday.
India defeated arch rivals Pakistan 3-1 in the semis to book their 11th final appearance, in the 12th edition of the biennial tournament, while 2008 champions Maldives blanked Nepal 3-0 in the other last-four match. Saturday's final will be their fifth final appearance.
India, the highest ranked side in the tournament, will start as the obvious favourites. Stephen Constantine's side defeated the Maldives 2-0 in their Group B meeting earlier in the tournament with Nikhil Poojari and Manvir Singh getting their names on the score sheet. Manvir is also the leading scorer of the tournament, with three goals.
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India have had a smooth sailing in the group phase, winning all their matches without conceding a goal. The seven-time champions finally conceded in the semis against Pakistan.
The Maldives progressed from the group as the second-placed team, behind India, despite finishing level on points, goal difference, goals against and head-to-head with Sri Lanka, thanks to a coin toss.
Lanka also lost to India by an identical 0-2 margin, then played out a goal-less draw with the Maldives.
In the semis, the Maldives defeated Group A toppers Nepal 3-0 with a brace from Ibrahim Waheed Hassan and a goal from Akram Abdul Ghanee.
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India are undefeated in their last seven matches. Last time, the two teams met in the tournament, India beat the Maldives 3-2 in 2015. In the 2013 edition, India beat the Maldives by a solitary goal. Maldives' last win against India came in an international friendly, 1-0, in 2009.
Here's everything else you need to know about the match:
Date: September 15, 2018 (Saturday)
Timing: 6:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh
TV Listing: D Sport
Live Streaming: Jio TV, Airtel TV
FIFA Rankings: India – 96; Pakistan – 150
Squads:
India: GK - Vishal Kaith (1), Kamaljit Singh (16), Sukhdev Patil (30); DF - Salam Ranjan (2), Subhasish Bose (captain/3), Davinder Singh (5), Jerry Lalrinzuala (6), Sarthak Golui (21), Mohammad Sajid Dhot (29); MF - Anirudh Thapa (7), Germanpreet Singh (8), Vinit Rai (14), Ashique Kuruniyan (19), Vignesh Dakshinamurthy (21), Nikhil Poojari (22), Lallianzuala Chhangte (25); FW - Manvir Singh (9), Sumeet Passi (10), Hitesh Sharma (11), Farukh Choudhary (15)
Head coach: Stephen Constantine (ENG)
Maldives: GK - Shareef Hussain (1), Tholaal Hassan (18), Mohamed Faisal (22); DF - Ali Samooh (2), Ahmed Numaan (3), Hussain Sifaau Yoosuf (4), Akram Abdul Ghanee (captain/13), Mujuthaaz Mohamed (19), Samdhooh Mohamed (25); MF - Mohamed Arif (6), Ali Fasir (7), Hamza Mohamed (10), Mohamed Irufaan (5), Ibrahim Waheed Hassan (20), Hussain Nihan (23), Ahmed Imaz (27); FW - Asadhulla Abdulla (9), Naiz Hassan (11), Riham Abdul Gani (14), Ibrahim Mahudhee (17)
Head coach: Petar Segrt (CRO)
