Durand Cup 2022: Who will seal the spot for final?

The 131st edition of the Durand Cup kick-started on August 16, 2022, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. 20 teams are part of this edition of the competition (11 ISL teams, five I-League teams and four teams from the Indian Armed Forces).

The final will be held on September 18 at the same venue. It is the oldest football competition in Asia, having been launched in 1888. On September 14, Mohammedan will face Mumbai City and on September 15, Bengaluru will play against Hyderabad in the semi finals of Durand.

Durand Cup 2022 Semi Finals

Both semi-final lineups are now finalized with Mohammedan Sporting taking on Mumbai City FC on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, while Hyderabad go up against Bengaluru FC a day later. Both those games will be played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK).

Lone surviving city challengers Mohammedan Sporting will look to exploit the home advantage and make the Durand Cup final for a second time in as many years when they face mighty Mumbai City FC in the semifinals here on Wednesday. With the ‘Big Two’ city heavyweights Mohun Bagan and East Bengal making premature exits, the onus would be on the Black Panthers to go the distance.

Their coach Andrey Chernyshov will hope that the Nigerian along with their Trinidadian captain Marcus Joseph will look to give them an early advantage against a team that have scored 18 times in 20 games — the highest in the tournament so far. “Mumbai is a strong team. But we have prepared ourselves. If we can play in our own style and play good football then we can get good results,” Chernyshov said on the eve of the match.

On paper, the Islanders have the slight edge going into the big game on Wednesday, given the sheer menacing nature of their attacking game and the quality and experience of the overall squad. However, the Islanders have scored 18 times in the tournament so far – the highest among all 20 teams – and the Black & White brigade have been no slouch having scored a dozen times themselves.

Reigning Indian Super League champions Hyderabad FC reached the semi-finals of the 131st edition of IndianOil Durand Cup, defeating Rajasthan United FC 3-1, in the fourth and final quarter-final played in Kolkata at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan. Rajasthan had given everything they could, but in the end it was the fancied Hyderabad who went through.