Indian Football Team are set to take on Kenya in the Hero Intercontinental Cup final Today at the Mumbai Football Arena. India won the previous fixture 3-0 which also marked the 100th international appearance for Sunil Chhetri.
Stephan Constantine’s men will look to get back on winning ways after losing the previous game against a relatively inexperienced New Zealand side. Though India won the previous game against Kenya 3-0 a lot of it was due to heavy rain and a pitch with bad drainage which favoured the blue tigers.
Pic via AIFF
Ahead of the game the coach Stephan Constantine said “The round robin stage is history now. We will start afresh tomorrow and try to win it,We had qualified after the first two games and it was important for us to give the other players an opportunity to play.We have to quickly adapt to the situation and will play accordingly. If there is water on the pitch, we have to adjust accordingly. The situation against Kenya was challenging but we coped up well. We’ll try to do the same tomorrow”.
Sebastian Migne, Head Coach of the Kenyan National Team said: “We will be out looking for a win against India. Although there is no revenge against any player, we would like to defeat India in the final.I wanted to play the hosts in the final and I am happy that my players will be facing the team they lost to. But this time around it will be a different result.”
India’s chances of winning the game will depend on in form forwards Sunil Chhetri and JEJE who have been amazing for the national team in the last two years. Kenya are expected to be more direct and will be a big threat in the set pieces. A lot will depend on central defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Anas Edathodika to counter Kenya’s threat in the set peices.
Formation
India will head into the game with their usual 4-2-3-1 formation with Sunil Chhetri playing behind center forward. Gurpreet Sandhu is expected to guard the posts.
Sandesh Jhingan and Anas will play at the center of the defense along with Pritam Kotal as right back and Subashish Bose as a left back. In midfield we can expect to see a lot of changes throughout the game.
Kenya might play 4-4-2
Key Players
India – Sunil Chhetri, JEJE, Anirudh Thapa
Kenya – Jockins Atudo, Clifton Miheso
MATCH DETAILS
Date : 10th June 2018
Venue : Mumbai Football Arena
Time : 8pm IST
Telecast – Star Sports Network
Live Stream – Hot Star
