Sunil Chhetri-led Bengaluru FC will face Club Eagles in the play-off match of AFC Cup to qualify for the group stage of the continental tournament.
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Bengaluru FC begin their bid to qualify for the group stage of the AFC Cup against Maldivian side Club Eagles on Sunday. The match will take place in the National stadium in Male. The winner of the play-off match will advance to the Group E of AFC Cup. There, ATK Mohun Bagan (India), Maziya S&RC (Maldives) and Bashundhara Kings (Bangladesh) await. The Blues made it to the preliminary stage two with a 5-0 thrashing of Tribhuvan Army FC (Nepal) back in April 2021.
The Indian club landed in Maldives earlier this week and began their preparations for the clash. Should the March Pezzaiuoli coached side see off the Eagles they will face ATK Mohun Bagan in their opening clash of Group D on August 18.
“It’s not an easy situation to play in. This is the second time we are preparing for this game. We had a good four-week preparation at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary, where we stayed in a bubble. It was a great facility with a fantastic ground, and now we are here in Maldives in another bubble,” said Pezzaiouli.
“We are missing a few players for the game against Club Eagles. Prince Ibara has an infection and he hasn’t joined the team, Edmund Lalrindika has a back injury and Harmanpreet Singh has a muscle issue. I have 26 players available for selection and we want to make it to the next stage of this competition,” he added.
On the other hand, Club Eagles eased past Thimphu City FC (Nepal) in their preliminary round 1 match with a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Hassan Ahmed and Mohammed Naim. And then the Maldivian club got a walkover in the next round as Dhaka Abahani (Bangladesh) failed to host the AFC Cup match due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile in their recently concluded domestic league the Maldivian club registered four wins, five defeats and five draws to finish fourth in the points table.
The Indian club has brought in seven new signings to the AFC Cup squad including defender Alan Costa, Yrondu Musavu-King and Jayesh Rane, while four more players from the developmental squad have made the cut.
“We’re really thankful that we can finally play a match, and we are really looking forward to the game. We are just focusing on our team, and as players we are all eager to fight for a place in the first XI and give our coach a selection headache. After last season’s defeat to Maziya, we weren’t feeling well because we didn’t give our best. But this is a new campaign and we will strive to do our best,” said Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri.
