Capping days of anticipation, India will face Pakistan within the opening match of the South Asian Soccer Federation (SAFF) Championship on Wednesday at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
This additionally marks the primary time Pakistan soccer crew taking part in in India since 2014, after the diplomatic relations between the 2 international locations worsened. Because the rivals battle it out, here’s a have a look at their earlier encounters.
India, which leads by virtually 100 positions within the FIFA rankings, has confronted Pakistan eight instances earlier than. The Blue Tigers is presently ranked in 98th place whereas Pakistan is in 195th place. India is the present SAFF champion, having gained the cup in 2021.
Rivals since 1959
The groups first performed one another through the AFC Asian Cup in 1959 which noticed Pakistan profitable. They clashed a complete of 24 instances with the Blue Tigers profitable 11 of them and drawing 10 instances. The Pakistan Shaheens have gained thrice. However their most up-to-date encounter with India was throughout SAFF Championship in 2018, by which crew India gained 3-1.
Crew India’s earlier match was towards Lebanon through the Intercontinental Cup Finals held on 18th June in Bhubaneswar. Having wager the rivals 2 – 0, the Indian Crew will enter the SAFF Championship with the hopes of clinching this championship and persevering with their reign as champions. However as India coach Igor Stimac places it, Pakistan may spring a shock.
“Overlook the rankings. I watch Pakistan’s match towards Kenya, and Pakistan was higher than Kenya away from house. They created higher possibilities, they had been extra aggressive, and clearly, they’re defending deeper,” Stimac advised reporters the opposite day.
Crew Pakistan can be flying in from Mauritius after a lot uncertainty as there was a delay in receiving their visas, first resulting from a delayed No Objection Certificates (NOC) after which a vacation at Indian Embassy.
Pakistan’s most up-to-date match was towards Djibouti within the 2023 Mauritius 4 Nations Cup the place they misplaced 3-1 to the crew. Issues aren’t going properly for the crew after dropping all 5 of their earlier matches. As for crew India, they’ve gained 4 of them and drawn as soon as.
SAFF
The 14th version of the SAFF Championship will host a complete of eight groups that embody 2 visitor members particularly Lebanon and Kuwait. Taking part groups additionally embody India, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan. India will face Nepal on Saturday and Kuwait on Tuesday.
