India seeks their second intercontinental cup triumph by finally breaching Lebanon’s defense in the final.
IND vs LEB Match Details
Date: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar
IND vs LEB Viewing Details
The match between India and Lebanon will be telecasted on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD with the live-streaming available on Hotstar and JioTV.
IND vs LEB Match Preview
India created a lot of decent opportunities to score but just couldn’t get over the line as they were held 0-0 by Lebanon on Thursday night. Anirudh Thapa probably has the biggest of them dragging his shot wide from point-blank range early on in the match. Nevertheless, Igor Stimac has said to be happy with the performance as the result meant less for both sides having already qualified for the final. Captain Sunil Chhetri was rested after scoring against Vanuatu but will be back for the showpiece on Sunday against the Cedars. With almost all the players enjoying game minutes in the tournament, Stimac will perceive the third edition intercontinental cup as a success in preparation for the Asian Cup next year. Winning the title will add the cherry on the cake. The Blue Tigers will be optimistic about their chances having won the silverware in 2018 in the first-ever tournament while also carrying an impressive unbeaten form from eight games with a clean sheet in the last five. After this India will face Pakistan for the SAFF Championship opener in Bengaluru just two days after the final.
Aleksandar Ilic failed to direct his Lebanon side to a victory against his long-term friend Stimac following another stalemate draw in the competition. The Cedars drew with Mongolia in the game before and while their defense stood strong like India they lacked in finishing. Lebanon already qualified for the final prior to the third match so will be taking pride in preventing India from scoring since last September. Ilic’s side looks to keep their back-four compact again to frustrate the hosts once more to win the Intercontinental Cup 2023. Lebanon are also participating in the Asian Cup so any title victory will be morale-boosting for them. Their journey will continue in the SAFF Championship as an invited nation with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives to face in their group. With both sides expected to field their full fledge eleven, the intercontinental final is set to be a better watch than the previous encounter.
Recent Form
IND: DWWWW
LEB: DDWLL
IND vs LEB Predicted Lineups
IND: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Pritam Kotal, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra; Anirudh Thapa, Rowlin Borges, Apuia; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sunil Chhetri, Naorem Mahesh
LEB: Ali Sabeh; Hussein Zein, Mohammad El Hayek, Maxime Aoun, Jihad Ayoub; Hassan Saad, Ali Tneich, Khaled-Ayoub; Nader Matar, Hassan Maatouk, Karim Darwich
IND vs LEB Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Gurpreet (7.5)
DEF: Pritam (7.5), Matar (8), Jhingan (9), Mishra (7.5)
MID: Thapa (9), Maatouk (8), Khaled-Ayoub (7)
FW: Chhangte (7.5), Chhetri (9), Darwich (8)
Captain: Sunil Chhetri
Vice-captain: Lallianzuala Chhangte
