Courtesy: Earlyintime; http://www.saffchampionship.org
Defending champions India will meet Sri Lanka in the first match of Group B in the 2018 edition of the SAFF Suzuki Cup. In the Group A fixtures held yesterday, Pakistan beat Nepal 2-1 and Bangladesh won 2-0 over Bhutan.
Speaking about India who have lost just one of their six SAFF Suzuki Cup games against Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka coach Nizam Packeer Ali said, “There are no favourites once the match kicks-off and the better team will win eventually. It’s very crucial to start the campaign with a positive result and we’re up for it. It’s better to face India early in such a tournament rather facing them in the knock-out stage”.
India are fielding primarily a U-23 side for this competition as coach Stephen Constantine believes this would be the best scenario to test his players. He said, “Unless these youngsters don’t get more international experiences, we won’t be able to know how they react to the challenges and deal with the pressure. Obviously, these boys have set their target to represent the Senior Team in future. But if we don’t provide them with opportunities, how would we be able to know about their capabilities?”
India are the most successful side in this competition with seven titles, while Sri Lanka, has won the tournament once, in 1995.
Did you know?
Sri Lanka have conceded at least two goals in four of their five group games against India in the SAFF Suzuki Cup.
Head to head
India 3W 3D Sri Lanka 3L 3D
Content retrieved from: http://www.saffchampionship.org/news/group-b-match-preview-india-vs-sri-lanka.
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