SAFF Championship 2023: Upbeat India take on Nepal in second group game

It will be a chance for the Blue Tigers to secure qualification into the knockout stage.

India face Nepal in their next challenge at the 2023 SAFF Championship. Their convincing win against Pakistan in the opening game of the tournament gives the fans of the country a lot of hope. The game will take place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on 24 June and the excitement is high as the neighbouring countries prepare to clash.

Nepal vs India: LIVE UPDATES

The Blue Tigers’ assistant coach Mahesh Gawli expects the upcoming game against Nepal to be a tough one. With the prospect of qualifying for the knockouts, the Indian men’s football team will certainly go all guns blazing and push for the win.

As the excitement builds for an epic clash between India and Nepal, here is what to expect from the fixture:

The Stakes

Nepal

Nepal had a difficult start to their 2023 SAFF Championship. They succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Kuwait and have to avoid a loss at all costs against India. Losing their second group game will eliminate their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages. Vincenzo Alberto Annese, the head coach of Nepal’s men’s football team, will want his team to spring up a surprise and cause an upset when they face the Blue Tigers.

India

The Indian men’s football team will qualify for the knockout stages if they win against Nepal in the upcoming game. The hosts are one of the contenders to win the 2023 SAFF Championship and winning the game against their neighbouring country will take them one step closer to realising their objective. 

Injury & Team News

Ishan Pandita is out of the 2023 SAFF Championship due to an injury. Otherwise, both teams have fully available squads!

Head-to-head

Total Matches: 23

Nepal Wins: 2

India Wins: 16

Draws: 5

All-time head-to-head-record: Read Here

Predicted Line-ups

Nepal (4-2-3-1)

Limbu (GK), Shrestha, Tamang, Chand, Panday, Limbu, Uperkot, Bista, Arik Bista, Dangi, Shreshta.

India (4-2-3-1)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Nikhil Poojary, Mehtab Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra, Rohit Kumar, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sahal Abdul Samad, Liston Colaco, Sunil Chhetri. 

Player to Watch

Anjan Bista (Nepal)

Nepal have a good attacking line-up and Anjan Bista is one of the players who can cause a lot of problems for the opposition. He was on the scoresheet against Kuwait and is only two goals away from becoming Nepal’s all-time leading goal-scorer. 

Indian defenders need to be wary of his qualities. The versatile attacker can cause problems with his pace and also finish from range if given time and space. His vision and creativity are also important tools which can be lethal.

Sunil Chhetri (India)

Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri scored a sensational hat-trick against Pakistan in their opening game of the 2023 SAFF Championship. He now has 90 goals for India which makes him the fourth-highest amongst all-time leading goal-scorers in international football behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei, and Lionel Messi.

Not to forget, Chhetri also scored in the final of the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup against Lebanon and is in a rich vein of form. If these reasons are not enough to watch out for him, then it is not sure what are.

Did You Know?

• India and Nepal played in the final of the 2021 SAFF Championship the last time around.
• Kiran Limbu of Nepal has 89 international caps, the second-most in the history of the men’s national team.
• India has kept seven clean sheets in a row.

Telecast

The Nepal vs India game will be played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru. The kick-off is at 7:30 PM. The live streaming of the game will be available on the FanCode app. DD Bharati and DD Sports will telecast the game on television. In Nepal, fans can tune into Kantipur TV.