The Indian men’s senior football team will take on Nepal in the 2021 SAFF Championship final on Saturday, October 16 at the Maldives National Football Stadium in Male. The match will kick off at 8:30 PM IST.
The Sunil Chhetri-led team made a disappointing start to their 2021 SAFF Championship quest, drawing back to back games against the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. At one point, the Blue Tigers found themselves fourth in the standings, sitting only above Sri Lanka, but consecutive wins over Nepal and host Maldives guided them to a top place finish.
In contrast, Nepal started off strong by beating the Maldives and Sri Lanka in the first two games but lost the plot in the final match as Bangladesh held them to a 1-1 draw.
India vs Nepal head-to-head
India leads the India vs Nepal head-to-head record by a wide margin, having won 15 of the 22 meetings between the two nations. Nepal, on the other hand, have won two matches while five ended in draws.
It took Nepal eight years (and seven matches) to register their first victory over India following their first meeting in 1985. As for their recent form, Nepal are winless against India since 2013 and have lost six of their last eight meetings against the Blue Tigers (L6, D2).
Indian football team squad for SAFF Championship 2021
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Vishal Kaith
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Seriton Fernandes, Chinglensana Singh, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Mandar Rao Dessai
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Lalengmawia, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Glan Martins, Suresh Singh, Liston Colaco, Yasir Mohammad
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary
Nepal football team squad for SAFF Championship 2021
Goalkeepers: Kiran Kumar Limbu, Deep Karki, Bishal Shrestha
Defenders: Ananta Tamang, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Gautam Shrestha , Suman Aryal, Rajan Gurung, Kamal Thapa, Suraj Jeu Thakuri
Midfielders: Ayush Ghalan, Bishal Rai, Nitin Thapa, Pujan Uperkoti, Santosh Tamang, Sujal Shrestha, Sunil Bal, Tej Tamang, Rohit Chand
Forwards: Aashish Lama, Anjan Bista, Manish Dangi, Nawayug Shrestha, Suman Lama
Where to watch India vs Nepal 2021 SAFF Championship final live in India?
India vs Nepal 2021 SAFF Championship final match will be telecast live on Eurosport and its corresponding HD TV channel in India. The match will start at 8:30 PM IST.
Live streaming of the India vs Nepal 2021 SAFF Championship final match will be available on Discovery+ and JioTV.
Featured photo: AIFF
