Durand Cup 2025 Final: Diamond Harbor seems to beat another ISL giant while Northeast united crown seems to defend

Despite the image as the big old man of football competitions, the Durand Cup has implemented debutants as champions in recent years, as a result of which teams such as Gokulam Kerala FC and FC Goa win the title in their first performances (in 2019 and 2021).

This will certainly inspire newcomer Diamond Harbor FC (DHFC), because it donates its sights on the crown, while on Saturday it includes defending defender Northeast United FC in the final of the 134th edition of the third oldest tournament in the world, in the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.

While the legacy teams and pre-tournament favorites such as Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Emami East Bengal have already fallen through the road, Diamond Harbor FC (barely three years old) came from the shadows of the famous compatriots to become the surprising challenger for the title.

The final will therefore witness an interesting matchup in which the power and pedigree of the reigning champion will be set up against the bold ambition of the debutant, who plays his first final of a national tournament.

Also read: How much does the winner of Durand Cup 2025 get? Price money distribution breakdown

Diamond Harbor, which this year became the I-League Division 2 champion, defeated ILL heavyweights such as Jamshedpur FC and East Bengal in the quarterfinals and the semi-final to reach the final. DHFC will now be looking for a successful end to the remarkable progress by increasing the powerful Northeast united, which happens to be the third opponent of the top competition of the country.

Neufc, which has remained unbeaten since the group’s phase, will gladly continue the unbeaten run and defend the title in the process.

Returning to defend the title for the second consecutive year, the Highlanders have shown the consistency by achieving four wins in the group and the knockout phases, where they defeated parties such as Shillong Lajong FC (twice), Malaysian forces and Bodoland FC 4-0.

The only occasion Northeast could not register the full points when Rangdajied United FC held it on a 2-2 draw. With his Moroccan attacker Alaeddine Ajaraie who regains his productive form after picking up the Golden Boot as the highest score of ISL earlier in the year, Northeast United has found it relatively easy to date. It is still to be seen how the Highlanders are doing against Diamond Harbor, who has been composed defensively for most of the tournament.

«We have done a lot of traveling and have played in varying temperatures, which Surely takes a toll on the players. We are basically in the pre-season, and it is too good to regain the form we showed last year. We are e-prythe-toe-toeFeFheFeBeTuStuTe PERPRING, United coach Juan Pedro Benali Said While Assessing His Team’s Progress in The New Season.

«We play the final, and there is no big team or small team in the final. There will be two successful teams that have been advanced to this stage after winning their earlier competitions. They deserve to be here with all due respect for the other opponents in the tournament, and therefore there will be no favorites in the final,» added the Spanish Gaffer.

After securing the i-League ligplaats earlier this year as the I-League Division 2 champion, Diamond Harbor continued his impressive run in the Durand Cup, especially in the way it took the superior opponents in the Knock-Out Podia, which happened in the Formheding in the form of a clinical overining in the form of a clinical-oversininingining Quarterfinals and an even more thoughtful 2-1 win against the 16-time Durand Cups-Camper East Bengal.

Diamond Harbor showed stubbornness in the face of the aggression and creativity of the opponent in his own attacks, and bought a big victory when his Spanish defender Mikel Kortazar yielded the lead with an acrobatic overhead volley, while Jobby Justin assured the victory to tone to great opportunism to great opportunism To show opportunity to capitalize on the Eastern Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhsukhan Singh Gill’s mistake. DHFC’s goalkeeper Mirshad Michu delivered a man-of-the-match performance by keeping a large number of the East Bengal attacks to help his team achieve a remarkable victory in the semi-final.

Also read: East Bengal Trio joins India Camp after Durand Cup Exit

“We play against the defending champion, who has a very good team. We are prepared for the game, but we will show all humility to our opponent. We have no extra pressure, but there will be some nervousness from competitive stress that happens with every team that plays the final.

It is a special game to play a Durand Cup final, and here we believe that busy is a privilege, «said the Diamond Harbor-Coach, Kibu Vicuna. The Spanish coach, who helped Mohun Bagan to win the I-League title in 2020, has a rather long experience to make a special plan in the turning.

Published on August 22, 2025