Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team

KATHMANDU, NEPAL: The SAFF U20 Championship 2024 is at its business end, as the India U20 men’s national team face Bangladesh in the semi-finals. The match will kick off on Monday, August 26, 2024, at 2.45 pm IST at the ANFA Complex, in Kathmandu, Nepal, and will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube channel.

India have had a steady start to the campaign, registering 1-0 victories over Bhutan and the Maldives to book their spot in the semi-finals as Group B toppers. Bangladesh, the 2022 edition runners-up, will be a different proposition.

India head coach Ranjan Chaudhuri said on the eve of the game, “Bangladesh are traditionally one of the stronger teams in this competition, and we will have to bring our best to the table tomorrow (Monday).”

The Blue Colts, having scored just two goals, are among the lowest scorers of the tournament among the teams in the last four. However, Chaudhuri remained bullish about his performance.

“We are the only side that has not conceded a single goal yet. Our defensive orientation has been pretty good in the last two matches. But we cannot sit on our laurels. We must also continue this good work in the knockout stage,” said Chaudhuri. “When you have a stable defence, your attackers have a strong base from which to build.”

India, have, however, been working tirelessly on improving their game up front. “We have got two good training sessions after the last game, and that has really helped us work on our finishing,” said Chaudhuri. “The boys had created a lot of chances against Bhutan and Maldives, but finishing was an area of concern.

“If we can properly implement the things that we have worked on over the last couple of days, we can get a good result and then look ahead from there,” he said.

India will welcome back the services of centre-back Pramveer and playmaker Vanlalpeka Guite after they served their one-match suspension for being sent off against Bhutan in their opening match. However, they will miss striker Monirul Molla, who scored the winner against Bhutan, after he was shown a yellow card in each of the two group-stage matches.

“It’s good to have the two players back after their suspension, but we have another suspended player in the semi-final. Of course, these things tend to happen during a tournament like this, and we have to deal with it,” said Chaudhuri. “We have 23 players in the squad, and I believe all of them are equal. The ones who will replace Monirul are capable enough to handle the situation.”