Kathmandu, Sept. 10: Having notched up a morale-boosting semi-final victory over the Maldives, defending champions India will try to maintain their supremacy in the Saff Football Championship when they take Afghanistan in the summit clash here on Wednesday.
On paper, the Afghans are a superior side with a Fifa ranking of 139 to India’s 145 as well as with seven of their first XI plying their trade in the lower tier leagues of the United States and Germany.
Medio Mustafa Azadzoy and defender Mustafa Hadid play in the German league while forward Mohammed Yusuf has played in the US.
India have won the trophy six times in the first nine editions having failed to reach the semis only once. However, they have a solid Afghanistan as an oppositions, who were thrashed 0-4 in the final of the last edition in New Delhi.
“We definitely want to take revenge as we were hard done by the referee (Singaporean Sukhbir Singh) during the last edition. We are a far superior side than India, technically and physically,” Afghanistan’s assistant coach Ali Jawad Attaii declared through his interpreter, team captain Fakhruddin Amiri, who incidentally plays for the I-League side Mumbai FC.
India will take a lot out of their win against the Maldives, where their strategy worked out wonderfully.
The return of skipper Sunil Chhetri, who is now a couple of goals shy of being India’s highest scorer will be a shot in the arm for Dutch coach Wim Kovermans, who has preferred playing with a single striker ib a 4-5-1 formation rather than the usual 4-4-2.
Robin Singh is also expected to return to the dug-out.
While Izumi Arata looks a doubtful starter with a back injury, Jewel Raja Sheikh is expected to fill in that attacking role.