The seven-nation 12th SAFF Suzuki Cup-2018 has been heated up with the India-Pakistan rivalry in the 2nd semifinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 07:00 pm today (Wednesday), reports UNB.
Nepal will take on the Maldives in the first semifinal at 04:00 pm at the same venue and same day.
Indian coach Stephen Contantine watched almost all of his players in the two group matches and is set to pitch the perfect combination for the crunch match.
Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Haji Kasam Choudhary, Manvir Singh, Nikhil Chandrashekhar, Sumeet Pasi all have returned the faith of the coach with good shows in the field.
The Brazilian coach of Pakistan Jose Antonio Nogueira has combined his players into a total unit with skipper Saddam Hossain leading the team with distinction.
His men-upfront Muhammad Ali and Saadullah-have roamed the opposition defence with efficiency. As per the head-to-head record between India and Pakistan, the 7th time champion India have the upper hand.
Out of the 23 battles between the two sides, India won 14, Pakistan won three and the rest six games ended in draw.
The two teams locked last time five years back in the 2013 SAFF Championship where India emerged as the victor with the solitary goal win in the match.
However, it will be hard to make any prediction for the upcoming match as it promises to be an evenly-contested one.
The other semifinal between Nepal and Maldives may prove the anticipation wrong as luck favoured the Maldives can turn the wheel around.
Nepal returned to form with a 4-0 thrashing of Bhutan and a formidable 2-0 win over hosts Bangladesh.
The formidable attackers Sunil Bal, Bharat Khawas, Bimal Gharti Magar and Nawjug Shreshta carry the Nepalese flag.
The Maldives who stormed into the semifinal winning the toss eliminating Sri Lanka are yet to score a goal in two matches losing 2-0 to India and playing a goalless draw against Sri Lanka.
Himalayan country Nepal will lock horns with islanders Maldives in the first semifinal today (Wednesday) at 04:00 pm with an inspiration of winning last two semifinals against the Maldives in four goal thrillers.
Nepalese Coach Bal Gopal Mahrajan has rotated his players in a neat way conserving the energy and also avoiding injury.
Nepalese team have an ability to create affective movements with short and long build ups.
Ananta Tamang, Sunil Bal and Bimal Gharti Magar has led the defense, midfield and offence respectively.
The Maldives recruited four forwards-Ali Fasir, Hamza Mohammad, Hasan Naiz and Ibrahim Hasan Waheed-to demonstrate their attacking intentions against Sri Lanka but still remained in bay.
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