Stephen Constantine believes India to beat Pakistan in SAAF Cup encounter
Stephen Constantine has expressed that India can certainly win against Pakistan in the upcoming SAFF semifinals and the team will take it as just another encounter in the tournament. Earlier, India won two consecutive matches against Sri Lanka and Maldives to reach the semifinals of the tournament.
India performed exceedingly well in the first two encounters and despite the absence of so many star players, they didn't bog down by the moment at all. And ahead of the all-important match against Pakistan, Coach Constantine stated that the players will take it as 'just another match’, which they will hopefully win to clear their passage for the finals. The semifinal match is scheduled to played on Wednesday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
“Nepal have played some stupendous football and they have deservingly reached the semis. Hopefully, we get a win against Pakistan and face Nepal in the final," Constantine told PTI.
“We are aware of the contest. But that is nothing different. It's just another match. We can't let the occasion get over us and hopefully, we will beat them to advance to the final," he said.
The last time India played against Pakistan officially, was in September 2013 in Kathmandu in which India had overwhelmed Pakistan by a 1-0 margin. And now Pakistan, after a gap of 13 years, have qualified for the semifinals of the
Indian footballer Manvir Singh, having been declared the most valuable player as India played against Maldives, mentioned that his first International goal was his ‘most delightful moment’ as a footballer.
"Scoring for the country is always special. The first goal it's a different emotion. I was sniffing around but the goal was eluding me," he said."So finally, when I made it, it was the most delightful moment for me as a footballer. The win has been a result of our team game and now we're looking forward to the semi-finals," he added.