Nepal deserved to win against Maldives, beware India

The SAFF Cup 2011 opened with a yawning match between Bangladesh and Pakistan. A match full of miss-passes, needless kicking around, unfit players falling off on the ground and then a deserving result of goalless draw. So much so that I took 2 power-naps in between! Welcome to the tournament of the minnows of the world.

By the time the 2nd match of the day started, India’s batting innings was underway and the common TV room saw the entrance of many Indian cricket fans but I held onto the remote control tightly to show my determination to watch the football match. They asked me who are the teams playing and I didn’t utter a word, lest they make a laugh about it. So it was only between the overs that I could watch the Maldives vs Nepal match.

Nepal displayed a beautiful game. The nifty short passes and ‘hit and run’ shots added with skills of Jumanu Rai, Anil Gurung, Rabin Sreshtha and Rohit Chand were pleasant to watch and for the 1st time South Asian brotherhood in me was proud.  I had never seen such a brilliant display of football in the region before. In the initial periods I thought this burst of speed is not going to last long and their stamina would give up. But I was proved wrong. Nepal were all over the place but lacked someone like Ali Ashfaq to make the final move. They were unlucky to find themselves 0-1 down against Maldives. It was sheer brilliance of Ashfaq which took away the work that Nepali team did.

The quality of football enthralled the cricket fans who were with me. So they didn’t make a fuss when I did not shift back to the cricket channel quickly. They seemed to be amazed equally.

This Nepali team is the fittest I think. They can play at the same tempo all 90 minutes. This should be a reason to worry about for the title contenders and specially the Indian team. The team selection this time has been severely criticized by the fans particularly the inclusion of some old players and Sushil Singh. So match-fitness remains a concern although being in match practice in I-league should help the players. To hold the force of Nepal, we would need a defense that is as strong and leak-proof as Maldives. But having conceded 5 goals against Zambia B team recently, there are plenty of questions to answer for the Indian defense line.