India take on Maldives in Saff semi-final today

Two dominating victories in the group stage notwithstanding, India face the real test in the South Asian Football Federation ( Saff) Cup when they take on Maldives in the first semifinals in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

India, who had beaten Sri Lanka (2-0) and Nepal (4-1) to top Group A, had hardly broken a sweat till now but Maldives are a side which the Stephen Constantine-coached home team ill-afford to take lightly when they clash at the Greenfiled Stadium at Kariavatton.

Maldives are one of the better sides in South Asia. Rather, they are the second most successful side in the regional tournament, having won the title once (in 2008) and ended runners-up thrice (1997, 2003 and 2009). India are also the lower ranked side between the two at 166th while Maldives occupy 160th spot in the latest Fifa charts. Defending champions Afghansitan are the highest ranked side at 150th.

Maldives, where football is a top sport, will also have at least a few hundred supporters at the stands on Thursday as their national airlines, in collaboration with their national federation, have arranged flights for the fans to fly in.

The home side though will have the psychological advantage as they have beaten Maldives in all the knock-out matches the two sides have played in the tournament. India have also been unbeaten in the tournament so far while the thinly island nation lost to Afghanistan (1-4) in their final group fixture.

Six-time champions India expectedly have been on a roll in the only tournament they have dominated as they have conceded just one goal while scoring six in the two wins they have recorded and they have not shown any weakness so far in the tournament.