India look for desperate attempts

A loss will not be an option for defending champions India when they take on hosts Nepal here Thursday in their final group stage match, which will determine the semi-finals line-up for the ongoing SAFF Championship.

A win or a draw for the five-time champions will cement a place in the semis but if they falter and Bangladesh beat Pakistan, the goal difference will come into play. At present India are on 4 points (+1 goal difference) while Nepal are also on 4 points (+2). The other two teams, Pakistan (-1) and Bangladesh (-2) are on one point each. If India lose and Pakistan beat Bangladesh, India will still go through on head-to-head equation.

But it won’t be as straightforward as that Thursday against a speedy Nepal team. The Indians have looked short on ideas upfront and although Wim Koevermans has done his best to instill the tiki-taka style, the low technical ability of the team has been on show. India just about scraped through against Pakistan 1-0, thanks to an own goal and against Bangladesh it took an injury-time goal from Sunil Chettri.