SAFF Championship Semi-Finalists Confirmed: Bangladesh and Kuwait to Clash, India to Face Lebanon
The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship semi-finalists have been determined following Bangladesh’s impressive 3-1 victory over Bhutan at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday.
In the first semi-final, Kuwait will square off against Bangladesh on Saturday, July 1.
Meanwhile, in the second semi-final on the same day, India will be pitted against Lebanon, who have remained unbeaten in their last three matches.
During the match between Bangladesh and Bhutan, Bhutan took an early lead as Tsendi Dorji found the back of the net within 12 minutes.
However, their advantage was short-lived as Shekh Morsalin scored a magnificent long-range goal in the 21st minute to equalize the game.Bhutan faced another setback when their player, #18 Phuntsho Jigme, scored an own goal just nine minutes after Bangladesh’s equalizer.In the 36th minute, Bangladesh extended their lead to two goals with a goal from striker Rakib Hossain.
Despite Bhutan dominating the game with 55% possession compared to Bangladesh’s 45%, it was the latter who emerged victorious.
Although Bangladesh committed 14 fouls during the match, none of their players received a yellow card.It is worth noting that the Pakistan Football Team failed to secure a single victory throughout their SAFF Championship campaign.
Starting with a 4-0 defeat against arch-rivals India, the Pakistani team faced another humiliation as the semi-finalists Kuwait scored four goals past goalkeeper Yousuf Butt.However, in their final group-stage game, Pakistan showed some improvement in defense, conceding only one goal in a non-consequential match against Nepal.
Pakistan concluded their journey at the bottom of the Group A points table, failing to score a single goal in three matches while conceding nine.India’s captain, Sunil Chhetri, has emerged as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, three of which he scored against Pakistan alone.
The schedule for the SAFF semi-finals is as follows:
First Semi-final:
July 1: Kuwait vs Bangladesh (Sree Kanteerava Stadium at 2:30 pm)
Second Semi-final:
July 1: India vs Lebanon (Sree Kanteerava Stadium at 7:00 pm)
Final:
July 2: Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs Winner of Semi-Final 2