India will reach regional championship finals for 13th time and ninth time
Release date – 11:08, Saturday – July 23
Bangalore: Defending champions India beat Lebanon 4-2 in a tense penalty shootout after 120 goalless minutes to reach the final of Saturday’s SAFF tournament here.
At the 4th of July summit, the hosts will take on Kuwait in the day’s other semi-final, beating Bangladesh 1-0. The Indian team will reach the regional championship finals for the 13th time and the ninth time in the regional championship finals. They have won eight times in the previous 13 editions.
The only time India failed to finish in the top two was in 2003. Captain Sunil Chhetri, Anwar Ali, Mahesh Singh and Udanta Singh scored for India in the penalty shootout. Lebanon scored just two goals through Walid Shour and Mohamed Sadek.
India goalkeeper Gupreet Sandhu saved Hassan Matuk’s shot, while Khalil Bader’s shot went over the bar. This is also India’s second consecutive victory over Lebanon after beating Lebanon 2-0 in the recent Odisha Intercontinental Cup.
Lebanon dominated the first half at the start of the first half before the final drama unfolded. India wasn’t even in the picture for the first 10 minutes. Lebanon had a great chance to take the lead in the second minute. But Nader Matar was a bit too eager for the volley and failed to give direction as the ball went over the bar.
India quickly found their way and scored their first goal in the 16th minute. This time, Chhetri played a coordinator role, pushing Jackson Singer forward with a well-placed pass. Jackson found cross Sahar Abdul Samad inside the box. However, Sahar’s shot was blocked by Ali Daini on the line.
The Lebanese team performed better in the first half, and they had another chance to lead in the 42nd minute. Captain Hassan Matuk, however, could not escape the outstretched hands of India goalkeeper Gupreet Sandhu. The pace of the game continued to pick up in the second half.
But neither India nor Lebanon were able to break the deadlock. Both defenses are also good. While both teams were competitive in midfield, neither team was able to produce a creative moment as the game went into overtime. Chhetri could have scored twice in the 93rd and 95th minutes, but the India captain uncharacteristically failed to find the target both times.
