SAFF Cup football: India to face arch-rivals Pakistan in semi-final on Wednesday

September 19 is a date marked in every sports lover’s calendar as India will take on Pakistan in an Asia Cup fixture in Dubai on that day. Well, this may not that well-known but it’s true that even before that India will face the arch-rival in another tie in Dhaka.

However the contest is not in cricket, and neither in hockey. It’s the SAFF Cup football semi-final where the two countries will lock horns and the Bangladesh capital is almost boiling in anticipation of that. The other semi-final will be played between Nepal and Maldives.

Football has still not taken off as a sought-after sport in India with cricket hogging the entire limelight in both India and Pakistan. The players of both the teams though are feeling the pressure while facing arch-rivals. An official of the tournament revealed that Bangladesh lost interest in the SAFF soon after their country bid adieu after going down to Nepal 2-0 last Saturday. “But the interest for the India-Pakistan match is increasing and it is expected to be played in full house on Wednesday,” he was quoted as saying by the local media.

However, the two countries have faced each other 23 times since 1959 with India winning 10 of those occasions with equal number of draws. India lost only thrice to Pakistan in head-to-head. For the record, Pakistan haven’t beaten India since 18 June 2005 which India lost 0-3 in the international friendly. The last time they crossed swords was on 1 September 2013 which India won 1-0 in a a SAFF Cup tie.

Irrespective of the quality of football and the enthusiasm of the game, it will be interesting to see a contest featuring India and Pakistan with India being coached by none other than Englishman Stephen Constantine. So, there’s a good reason to be glued to television sets at 7 pm on Wednesday.

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