Indian football team chief coach Stephen Constantine Thursday made it clear that the SAFF Cup is a platform for talented players to impress and earn their places in the squad for the Asian Cup.
The Asian Cup will be held early next year in the UAE.
"These boys have a carrot in front of them which is a berth in the Asian Cup squad. They are well aware of the fact that they need to perform constantly to earn the same," Constantine said.
With India having secured a summit clash with Maldives in the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup, Constantine said the "final will be a tough one".
"Maldives have shown their worth in the semi-final against Nepal. A 3-0 win against Nepal was not an easy task. Some of their players didn't play against us and they did some major damage work against Nepal," Constantine stated.
"We are expecting a tough game against Maldives. But as I said before, we have come with a strong intent to win the tournament."
Manvir Singh who scored a brace against Pakistan in the semi-final to win his successive MVP Award of the tournament said the focus has "already shifted to the final".
"It was a group of tough guys and the job was never going to be an easy one. But we had the self-belief to churn out the positive result and eventually, we did," he said.
"Now, we have another major task in three days and we will need to focus on the final.”
“We are working as a unit and we just need to keep our heads down and continue the work," the 23-year-old striker who is leading the goal-scorers' chart with 3 goals, maintained.
‘U-16 crop is better’
New Delhi: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the first-choice goalkeeper of the Indian football team, says the current U-16 boys, preparing for the AFC Championship in Malaysia, are better than what the current senior players were at their age.
The colts, being coached by Bibiano Fernandes, have played 20 international friendlies against various U-16 national teams since January 2018 and are presently gearing up for the AFC Championship, which kicks off in Kuala Lumpur from September 20.
"It's a very positive development. If we would have that much exposure what they have been receiving at the moment, who knows things would have been much different. They are very lucky and need to make the most of it," Gurpreet said.
"But overall, I'm very happy that they are getting such opportunities and that youth football is being taken so seriously. After all, they are our future."
The U-16 boys are playing Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia at the group stage.