2023 SAFF Championship: High-flying India aim to tame neighbors Nepal
The Indian Football team's next assignment in the 2023 SAFF Championship will be against neighbors Nepal on June 24 at Bengaluru's Sree Kanteerava Stadium. The Blue Tigers have started their campaign with a 4-0 win over Pakistan and will look to continue that momentum for the rest of the competition. Meanwhile, Nepal lost their opener against Kuwait and will aim to get on board.
Match venue, timing and streaming details
The venue for this match will again be the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. The stadium can approximately hold 25,000 spectators. Fans will fill it in numbers when India will take the field against the Gorkhalis. Pakistan will take on Kuwait earlier in the day. DD Bharati will telecast the game, while fans can live-stream the match on FanCode (paid subscription) from 7:30pm IST.
A look at the head-to-head record
India's rivalry with Nepal goes back a long way as the two teams played for the first time on December 1985. Over the years, the teams have crossed swords on many occasions and India have won the majority of the clashes. In 23 matches, India have registered 16 victories, while five matches have ended in a draw. Nepal have won only twice.
India will aim to outwit Nepal
Nepal gave Kuwait a very tough fight considering their quality. They eventually lost the match 3-1 but the Gorkhalis created some genuine goalscoring chances. They will aim to take positives from that match. Meanwhile, Igor Stimac's men had a dominant start to their campaign with a 4-0 win. They were flawless in defense and did not allow Pakistan any space in the final third.
Here are the probable playing XIs
India's probable XI: Amrinder Singh (Gk), Pritam Kotal, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhashis Bose, Anirudh Thapa, Jeakson Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sahal Abdul Samad, Ashique Kuruniyan and Sunil Chhetri. Nepal's probable XI: Kiram Limbu Chemzong, Sanish Shrestha, Ananta Tamang, Rohit Chand, Bimal Panday, Laken Limbu, Pujan Uparkoti, Manish Dangi, Arik Bista, Anjan Bista and Nawayug Shrestha.
A look at the key performers
Chhetri scored a hat-trick against Pakistan, which took his overall SAFF tally to 21 goals. Anwar showed great solidity in defense and also came up with a fine assist for Udanta Singh. Anjan Bista scored the only goal for Nepal against Kuwait. He has scored 12 times in 57 appearances. Rohit Chand, who plies his trade for Indonesian outfit, Persik Kediri, will be crucial.
