After two disappointing draws in the SAFF Cup, India was able to pull through to the finals after facing the brink of elimination and defeating their finalist opponents Nepal by 1-0 and 58th ranked the Maldives led by Ali Ashfaq by 3-1. Chhetri scored 3 of the 4 total goals scored by India in the last two matches.
India has been in 10 straight SAFF finals since 1995 and won 6 of them, India has been one of the best in the SAFF Cup and will on to its 11th championship. Nepal vs India has never been a competition, India won 15 of 21 games against them and lost only 2 games. All the favour and odds seem to be with India.
Let's take a look at the head-to-head results between India 🇮🇳 & Nepal 🇳🇵 as we build up to the SAFF Championship Final today 🙌#NEPIND ⚔️ #SAFFChampionship 2021 🏆 #BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/erjdGplIxS
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 16, 2021
For Nepal, they have never been to the finals of SAFF, they have had their best run in 1993 where they were placed 3rd on the table, Nepal has so far scored six goals against India’s five, with Anjan Bista contributing with two. Besides the 23-year-old forward, Nepal has capable players in Suman Lama, Ayush Galan, and Manish Dangi.
India will go on to face Nepal at 8:30 PM IST, in the Maldives National Football Stadium. India did lose their forward Farukh Choudhary who assisted Chhetri against Nepal to win by 1-0, he suffered the worst of injuries known as ACL.
🚨 It's D-Day 🚨
The #BlueTigers 🐯🇮🇳 take on Nepal 🇳🇵 in the Final of #SAFFChampionship2021 🏆 in Male 🙌
⏳ 8.30 PM 🕣
📍 National Football Stadium, Male 🏟️#NEPIND ⚔️ #BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/6JooApmz8A— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 16, 2021
