Defending champion Karnataka will likely be the staff to beat.
Defending champion Karnataka will lead the challenge in the final spherical of the 77th National soccer championship for the Santosh Trophy, which will get underway at the Golden Jubilee Stadium close to Arunachal Pradesh’s capital Itanagar on Wednesday.
A complete of 12 groups (9 qualifiers from the group stage and three automated qualifiers — host Arunachal Pradesh and final yr’s finalists Karnataka and Meghalaya) have been divided into two teams of six every in the final spherical.
This time the knock-out section has been enhanced with the addition of the quarterfinals, which may have the high 4 groups from every group contesting. The gamers will likely be mainly sourced from I-League 2, which has taken a break to permit the gamers to symbolize their states.
The two teams seem to be fairly balanced with Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Goa, Assam, Services and Kerala clubbed in group A. Group B may have holder Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Manipur, Railways and Mizoram. This time large names, together with the 32-time champion Bengal and eight-time winner Punjab, have failed to make it to the final spherical.
On Wednesday, matches will likely be held in three classes, with Meghalaya taking over Services in the morning earlier than Kerala meets Assam in the afternoon. Arunachal Pradesh will face a powerful Goa in the final match of the day in the night.
The group league will conclude on March 2 whereas the quarterfinals come up on March 4 and 5. The semifinals will likely be performed on March 7 and the final on March 9.
