The Meghalaya team, which made it to the semi-finals of the Santosh Trophy football tournament for the first time, is eyeing a historic title win in Saudi Arabia. For the first time Santosh Trophy National Football Championship is being organized on foreign soil. The knockout stage (semi-finals, final and third-place play-off) matches of the tournament are being held at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Two of football’s all-time greats, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, also played on the same ground during an exhibition match last month.
Meghalaya coach Khalen Simlih told PTI, “It is very motivating for us to play in Riyadh. For most of our players, this is their first experience of playing on foreign soil. It is good for us and good for Indian football. Meghalaya will take on Punjab in the semi-finals on Wednesday, while Army will play against Karnataka. The third place play-off match and the final will be played on Saturday. Complimenting the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for organizing the Santosh Trophy final in Saudi Arabia, Simlih said, “Now our target is to win the title. I think we can beat Punjab. In the last round in Bhubaneswar, we beat a team like Bengal. On our day we can beat any team.
