The Indian football team will take on Sri Lanka in their second SAFF Championship 2021 group stage match at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives on Thursday, October 7.
The Blue Tigers were held to a 1-1 draw by a 10-man Bangladesh side in their opening game of the championship. With seven SAFF titles already in their trophy cabinet, India are the most dominant side in SAFF history and will be keen to secure their first win of the tournament on Thursday.
Coached by Igor Stimac, India strengthened their midfield and attack by adding Udanta Singh and Jeakson Singh before the start of the championship. Udanta made his presence felt in the draw against Bangladesh by providing the assist for Sunil Chhetri’s opener.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have endured a disappointing start to their SAFF Cup campaign under coach Amir Alagic. The island nation suffered a 0-1 defeat to Bangladesh in their opening match followed by a 2-3 loss to Nepal.
India vs Sri Lanka head-to-head record
The head-to-head against Sri Lanka has seen the Blue Tigers dominating their sub-continent rival. India have won nine games, drawn four and lost just three matches against Sri Lanka.
The last time these two sides met was in September 2018 when India romped to a 2-0 victory. They are also on a five-match unbeaten streak against Sri Lanka with the latter’s last win in this fixture coming in May, 2000.
Currently ranked 107 in the FIFA rankings, India will lock horns with Nepal (October 10) before facing hosts Maldives (October 13) in their final round-robin stage fixture.
The SAFF Championship 2021 final is scheduled to be held on October 16.
Indian football team squad for SAFF Championship 2021
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Vishal Kaith
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Seriton Fernandes, Chinglensana Singh, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Mandar Rao Dessai
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Lalengmawia, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Glan Martins, Suresh Singh, Liston Colaco, Yasir Mohammad
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary
Sri Lanka football team squad for SAFF Championship 2021
Goalkeepers: Sujan Perera, Prabath Ruwan Arunasiri, Kaveesh Fernando
Defenders: Chamod Dilshan, Harsha Fernando, Sunil Roshan Appuhamy, Charitha Rathnayake, Duckson Puslas, Asikoor Rahuman
Midfielders: Mohamed Musthaq, Mohamed Fazal, Marvin Hamilton, Jude Supan, Chalana Chameera, Kavindu Ishan, Dillon De Silva, Edison Figurado, Aman Faizer
Forwards: Ahamed Waseem Razeek, Mohamed Aakib, Supun Dananjaya Wijesinghe, Rifkhan Mohamed, Mohamed Shifan
Where to watch India vs Sri Lanka SAFF Championship 2021 live in India?
India vs Sri Lanka SAFF Championship 2021 match will be telecast live on Eurosport and its corresponding HD TV channel in India. The match will start from 4:30 PM IST.
Live streaming of the India vs Sri Lanka SAFF Championship 2021 match will be available on Discovery+ and JioTV.
Featured photo : Indian Football / Twitter
