MUMBAI: Premier League teams West Ham United FC and Everton FC secured the second spot in their respective groups and will thus lock horns on Friday.
The Hammers played out a gruelling 3-3 draw against finalists Stellenbosch FC yesterday. They consistently chased the winner in a closely contested game that went back and forth throughout the course of the match.
On the other hand, the Toffees edged past RFYC to emerge victorious 2-1 on Tuesday. They have really grown into the tournament after a slow start as they faced a 4-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC in their opening fixture.
There will be an aura of familiarity between the two teams as they often face each other in England and it hence looks likely that the spectators will witness an enthralling game of end-to-end football, ISL press release said.
"The tournament has come at a very good time for us. We have had a long, hard season and we have tried to instil a lot of messages to the team, across the entire season. This is a real good opportunity for us to play in a different environment against teams that we are not very familiar with," Everton coach Kieran Driscoll said as quoted by ISL.
Driscoll added, "The lads have placed a lot of emphasis on taking all the messages that we have given them across the season and have shown us in this tournament what they have learnt."
"We are here not only for the footballing experience, which is very diverse and unique, but also for the overall cultural experience. The boys have been able to experience different things on a daily basis.
The football has been a real bonus but essentially we are here to learn, become better people and better players forward," West Ham United coach Lauris Coggin quipped.
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