An under-strength Mohun Bagan Super Giant will look to prove a point when it faces FC Goa in a semifinal match of the Super Cup football tournament in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. (More Football News)
The Mariners have come to the tournament with an all-Indian squad except for Portuguese defender Nuno Reis but they stunned Kerala Blasters 2-1 in the quarterfinals and are just two wins away from a domestic treble.
FC Goa, who finished second in the ISL, will, however, be tougher opponents than the Blasters, according to Mohun Bagan SG coach Bastab Roy, who labelled the Super Cup campaign as an "exposure trip".
The Gaurs are one of the only two sides to beat Mohun Bagan SG during the regular season.
"FC Goa are, without a doubt, a better and a stronger team than Kerala Blasters. So my job is not easy. But my players are focussed and ready. It's an exposure trip for the young boys and some seniors as well. It's a semi-final and I've told my boys to enjoy the game," said Roy in the pre-match press conference.
"We're not thinking about being champions right now. Winning the first match was good for us because we now get one more chance. Obviously, it's a semi-final and if we win, we will get a chance to play the final, and then we'll think of being the champions," Roy added.
The Gaurs have reached the semi-finals after two victories, a breezy 3-0 defeat of Gokulam Kerala FC, followed by a nerve-wracking 2-1 comeback win over Punjab FC on Saturday.
Head coach Manolo Marquez now stands two wins away from his first silverware with FC Goa.
FC Goa are billed as the favourites for this clash, owing to their full strength, but Marquez emphasised that the number of foreign players is not an indication of a team's strength, citing examples from the Super Cup so far.
"Mohun Bagan are here with half the squad of the main team, and the other half were champions of (of ISL) two weeks ago. I think the game will be very difficult because they have nothing to lose. They have already won two trophies. They already have the slot for the Asian competition.
“During this Super Cup, Mumbai (City) played with only one or two foreigners, and they beat Chennaiyin, who played with all six. We were very close to losing to Punjab, who played with only two foreigners.
"Obviously, the foreigners are important. But the Indian players of Mohun Bagan are very good. People think that the team with more foreigners are the favourites, but that doesn't matter," said Marquez.
In the other semifinal, Mumbai City face Jamshedpur FC. Both bowed out of the Super Cup at the semi-final stage last year, but this season presents them a chance to make the final for the first time ever.
With both sides yet to concede a goal in the tournament so far, it will be fascinating to see who finally unlock the other's defence.
Mumbai City head coach Petr Kratky has the opportunity to take the Islanders to an Asian competition for the third time in the club's history, and the anticipation is high in the dressing room.
"We'll go game by game and get ready for the next final, which is tomorrow. Our expectations are always the highest; we want to win every game, we are here to win and bring the trophy for the club and the fans," said Kratky.
Jamshedpur FC find themselves in the Super Cup semi-final for the third time in a row. They lost 0-2 on both previous occasions to East Bengal (2024) and Bengaluru FC (2023).
While the Men of Steel will count on being third time lucky, head coach Khalid Jamil highlighted that they consider every tournament a new challenge.
"We never think like this (about the previous tournaments). If this is a new challenge in your game, you must think positively and try to get good positive results," he said.
