India, Bangladesh enter final

Kathmandu, September 27

India and Bangladesh advanced to the final of the SAFF U-18 Championship here at the Nepal APF Club grounds today.

Jitendra Singh of India vies for the ball with Haisam Rasheed (right) of the Maldives during their SAFF U-18 Championship semi-final match in Kathmandu on Friday, September 27, 2019. Photo: Udipt Singh Chhetry/THT

Both the youth football teams registered identical 4-0 victories over their opponents in the semi-final matches. India defeated Maldives, while Bangladesh outplayed Bhutan to set the rematch. The two sides, who were placed in Group B, had played a goalless draw in the league match.

In the second semi-final match of the day, Narender Gahalat put India in front in the seventh minute after he found the back of the nets with a flick header. India doubled the tally in the first half injury time, thanks to an own goal from Ahnaf Rasheedh.

Manbir Singh extended the lead in the 73rd minute after Maldives goalkeeper Hassan Aleef fumbled the ball inside the area, while Ninthoinganba Meetei khumanthem made it 4-0 three minutes later with a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty box.

Earlier, Md Tanbir Hossain, Md Maraz Hossain, Foysal Ahmed Fahim and Dipok Roy netted one goal each for Bangladesh. Md Tanbir Hossain opened the scoring in the 16th minute before Foysal Ahmed Fahim doubled the tally in the 27th minute and Md Maraz Hossain made it 3-0 five minutes later. After the break, they added one more goal when Dipok Roy found the back of the nets in the injury time.

Maldives and Bhutan will play for third place at the ANFA Complex, while India and Bangladesh will face each other for the second time in the championship match at the APF Club grounds on Sunday. Two-time defending champions Nepal were eliminated from the group round after they played a 1-1 draw against Maldives before facing a humiliating 3-0 loss at the hands of Bhutan in Group A matches.

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