Football
Santosh Trophy Final: Kerala vs West Bengal - Preview, When and Where to Watch
Kerala and West Bengal will square off in the final of the Santosh Trophy 2021-22 at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.
Kerala to face West Bengal in the Hero 75th NFC for Santosh Trophy Final (Source: Indian Football/Twitter)
An intense competition awaits us on Monday evening when the two hotbeds of Indian football, Kerala and West Bengal will square off in the final of the 75th National Football Championship, Santosh Trophy at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.
Hosts Kerala, who have lifted the trophy six times, will be eyeing to pose a threat to the most-successful team (32-time champion) in the history of the tournament, West Bengal. The eastern giants will be entering their 46th Santosh Trophy final on Monday. Backed by the strength of their home supporters, Bino George's men have already beaten West Bengal by 2-0 in their previous encounter in the group stages of the tournament.
West Bengal, coached by Ranjan Bhattacharjee, recovered quickly from the said loss and went on to win all their matches in the group stages. They will try to avenge their 2018 Santosh Trophy final defeat, which they lost in penalties after the game ended in a stalemate at the end of regulation time.
Road to the final
Kerala started off their campaign on a high, with a 5-0 win against Lakshwadeep. They went on to beat Andaman and Nicobar, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Punjab. The team remained unbeaten in their group stage matches with a draw against Meghalaya. In the semifinals, they thrashed Karnataka 7-3. Substitute Jesin TK scored an astounding five goals, while Shighil and Arjun Jayaraj each scored one goal.
Group stages
Kerala 5-0 Lakshwadeep
Kerala 9-0 Andaman and Nicobar
Kerala 4-1 Pondicherry
Kerala 5-0 Rajasthan
Kerala 2-0 West Bengal
Kerala 2-2 Meghalaya
Kerala 2-1 Punjab
Semifinals
Kerala 7-3 Karnataka
West Bengal also had an astounding run in the tournament with four wins in five matches at the group stages — their only defeat coming against the hosts. In the other semi-final, West Bengal defeated Manipur by 3-0. Sujit Singh, Fardin Ali Molla and Dilip Orawn scored a goal each to help West Bengal secure a spot in the final. Meanwhile, West Bengal goalkeeper Priyant Singh also produced some superb saves to be adjudged the man of the match.
Group stages
Chhattisgarh 0-2 West Bengal
West Bengal 1-0 Sikkim
West Bengal 1-0 Punjab
Kerala 2-0 West Bengal
Rajasthan 0-3 West Bengal
Semifinals
Manipur 0-3 West Bengal
The last time the two teams played, the score was locked at 0-0 at the hour mark. Thereafter, Bengal goalkeeper Priyant Singh faced a barrage of shots and was deceived in the 84th minute by Noufal while Jesin Thonikkara found the back of the net in the injury time.
Kerala Vs West Bengal: Head-To-Head
To date, Kerala and West Bengal have met on the field 31 times. On 15 occasions, West Bengal won while Kerala managed to win 8 times. Further, 8 matches have been drawn between them too.
As far as goals are concerned, Bengal has 39 to their merit while Kerala has 24.
When to watch Santosh Trophy 2021-22 final?
The Santosh Trophy 2021-22 final match between Kerala and West Bengal will kick off at 8 PM IST.
Where to watch Santosh Trophy 2021-22 final?
LIVE streaming of the Santosh Trophy 2021-22 final between Kerala and West Bengal will be available on the Indian Football Team's Facebook page. However, there will be no live telecast on television.
Follow our LIVE blog for all the latest updates from the match.
