SAFF Championship: India Start Firm Favourite To Land Title

Buoyed by the recent triumph in the Intercontinental Cup, the Indian football team will enter the SAFF Championship 2023 as a confident unit and look to extend its dominance in the tournament. India will face Pakistan in their opening outing at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday, and the match is all set to be played as per schedule after the latter received their India visa on Monday night. Placed low in the pecking order, Pakistan might not offer India a massive challenge but the Blue Tigers will be eager to start their campaign on a rousing note, and give other aspirants a strong message.

Eight-time champions India are drawn into Group A alongside Nepal, Kuwait and Pakistan. The other competing teams are Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh who have been drafted into Group B.

The Intercontinental Cup victory will add to their desire to land another trophy to the cabinet. India had warded off strong opponent Lebanon 2-0 on Sunday at the Kalinga Stadium to win the event.

It was India's first victory over Lebanon in 46 years and that skipper and No. 1 striker Sunil Chhetri managed to etch his name on the score sheet would boost Indians' morale.

The Indian team would hope for Chhetri to continue in the same vein in the SAFF Championship as well. If one needs a bit of personal motivation, Chhetri can look to surpass Mokhtar Dahari of Malaysia, who has 89 goals against his name, as the second highest-scoring Asian footballer.

Chhetri has 87 goals for India from 137 matches and three more goals in the SAFF tourney will propel him to a rare milestone.

Beyond those personal milestones, India will also have a proud team record to preserve. They are the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2021 but that is