India will for the umpteenth time look up to the talismanic Sunil Chhetri and a stadium packed to the brim with emotionally-charged fans for inspiration as they face Kenya in the summit showdown of the Intercontinental Cup here tomorrow. The world’s third leading scorer, Chhetri have so far found the back of the net in each of the three games, including a hat-trick against Chinese Taipei and a brace against Kenya.
The tournament is being used by hosts India as a preparatory ground for the AFC Asian Cup, to be held in January next year, and a win in the final will surely boost their confidence going ahead. India had blanked Kenya 3-0 in the league game at the Mumbai Football Arena, which was skipper Chhetri’s 100th appearance in national colours. And the India captain made the game memorable by scoring a brace.
They will look to replicate the performance of their league game against the African side again in the summit clash, which the organisers have claimed to be a ‘sold out’ match.
The hosts are the side to beat this tournament as they have throughout played an aggressive brand of football. But the Stephen Constantine coached team cannot take Kenya lightly as they have defeated New Zealand 2-1 and blanked Chinese Taipei 4-0 last night.