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| India vs Afghanistan SAFF Championship 2011 Finals 11th December, 2011 6 PM, Live on Ten Action Plus |
India will have to prove that they have that quality of Champions when they face the surprise package of the tournament Afghanistan on Sunday, 11th December in the finals of the 2011 SAFF Championship. The teams have already faced each other once in the group stage where India were looking rusty perhaps due to complacency as the scoreline read 1-1 after full time which no Indian Football fan could have even dreamt about. Nevertheless, India did manage to pull off a string of good performances after that blunder and since then are looking as a better unit. Afghanistan on the other hand, have a story of their own to tell. Perhaps no body could have fancied them to reach the semis from the group stage, but they managed to outclass every opponent they faced after India, with their physicality and pace. They came out of the nervy semi-finals against another surprise of the tournament Nepal with a 1-0 win after the match was extended to extra time.
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| Balal Arezou, Afghanistan |
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| Sunil Chhetri, India |
For India, several players have made a name for themselves with consistent performances throughout the entire tournament. Those names include, Sunil Chhetri, Syed Rahim Nabi, Clifford Miranda and Karanjit Singh. Sunil Chhetri is on a top from scoring the highest number of 6 goals in the 4 matches that he has played. Syed Rahim Nabi, has shown that why he is considered the most versatile man in Indian football. Nabi has scored twice despite playing as a left back. He at the same time has had the opponents attack on check with some fine tackles when required. Clifford Miranda, with his pace and accuracy has been a new asset to the team. Karanjit Singh, has hardly put a foot wrong in the entire tournament conceding only 2 goals till now and producing some fine saves. For the Afghanistan, their forward line composes some good quality with Sanjar Ahmadi and Balal Arezou in fine form. Balal Arezou, the Norway based forward has been clinical in front of goal, sharing the top spot of goalscorers with Sunil Chhetri. Djelaludin Sharityar who plays for Ethnikos Achna in Cyprus, is also a key man for the squad, as he has managed to organise the Afghani defence very well and also earned the praises of Indian coach, Savio Medeira.
Indian Line Up:
Karanjit Singh (GK); Syed Rahim Nabi, Mahesh Gawli, Gouramangi Singh, Nirmal Chettri; Clifford Miranda, Climax Lawrence (C), Rocus Lamare, Anthony Periera; Sunil Chhetri Jeje Lalpekhlua.
Who will have the last laugh- the defending Champions or the Surprise Package of the tournament? The stage is all set to witness a cracker.
The match will kick off from 6 PM IST Live from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi live on Ten Action Plus.
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