Champions from the previous season After a goalless 120 minutes of play, India held their nerve to defeat Lebanon 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout to go to the final of the SAFF Championship football tournament on Saturday. In the summit game on July 4, the home team will face Kuwait, which defeated Bangladesh 1-0 in the second semifinal of the day.
India will compete in the regional tournament final for the 13th time and ninth time in a row. They have won eight of the previous thirteen contests. The only time India failed to finish in the top two was in 2003. Sunil Chhetri, Anwar Ali, Mahesh Singh, and Udanta Singh all scored for India in the penalty shootout.
Walid Shour and Mohammad Sadek scored Lebanon’s lone goals. Gurpreet Sandhu, India’s custodian, stopped Hassan Maatouk’s free kick, while Khalil Bader’s soared beyond the crossbar. It was also India’s second consecutive victory over Lebanon, following a 2-0 victory in the recent Intercontinental Cup in Odisha.
Before the late drama began, Lebanon dominated the proceedings in the first half. For the first ten minutes, India was nowhere to be seen. Lebanon had a fantastic chance to take the lead in the second minute. Nader Matar, on the other hand, was a little too eager to perform a volley, failing to impart direction as it went over the bar. India quickly recovered their bearings and had their first shot on goal in the 16th minute.
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