East Bengal Practice.

Durand Cup 2025 Match Preview: Emami East Bengal FC wary of local rivals Diamond Harbour FC ahead of their semi-final clash

East Bengal Practice. Photo by Bibhash Lodh / BS News Agency.

Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency, Kolkata: Emami East Bengal FC will take on tournament debutants Diamond Harbour FC in the second semi-final of the 134th edition of the Durand Cup at Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan tomorrow evening (Kickoff - 7 PM). The winner of tomorrow's match will face NorthEast United FC in the final on 23 August. 

The Red & Golds have had a remarkable Durand Cup 2025 campaign so far, with their latest victory coming against Mohun Bagan Super Giant (2-1) in the quarter-finals at the same venue last Sunday.

Under the guidance of Head Coach Oscar Bruzon, EEB have scored the maximum goals (14) in the tournament so far, while conceding just 2.

EEB topped Group A with a perfect record that included a 5-0 win over South United FC, a 1-0 win over Namdhari FC and a 6-1 win over Indian Air Force FT. The quarter-final victory against MBSG, with Greek forward Dimitrios Diamantakos scoring a brace after coming on as a substitute, highlighted their resilience and squad depth. As many as nine players (Lalchungnunga, Saul Crespo, Bipin Singh, Diamantakos, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Hamid Ahadad, Anwar Ali, Md Rashid, David Lalhlansanga) have scored for EEB in this year's Durand Cup, with Diamantakos being his side's top scorer at this point with 3 goals.

Diamond Harbour FC, meanwhile, advanced to the knockouts from Group B as one of the best second-placed teams at the end of the group stage. They started their campaign with consecutive victories over Mohammedan SC (2-1) and Border Security Force (8-1), before suffering a 1-5 defeat to MBSG in their final group match. In the quarter-finals, they defeated Jamshedpur FC 2-0 in Jamshedpur, with defender Sairuat Kima netting a brace.

                             Photo BS News Agency.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the Durand Cup. 

Addressing the media at the pre-match press conference, Emami East Bengal FC Head Coach Oscar Bruzon said, "DHFC are no pushovers and they have qualified for the semi-finals purely on merit. It will be a very tricky match. We are wary of them and need to execute our plans to perfection."