The semi-finalists for the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship are confirmed after Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 3-1 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday.
Kuwait will take on Bangladesh in the first semi-final which will be played on Saturday (July 1) while India will be facing Lebanon, who are unbeaten in their last three games, in the second semi-final on the same day.
In today’s match, Bhutan took an early as Tsendi Dorji scored within 12 minutes to strengthen his country’s grip on the match but their lead didn’t last long as Shekh Morsalin scored a rocket from outside the box in the 21st minute to level the game.
Bhutan were met with another luckless moment as their #18 Phuntsho Jigme scored an own goal just nine minutes after The Tigers scored an equalizer.
Bangladesh extended their lead to two goals in the 36th minute as the striker Rakib Hossain scored for his team.
Bhutan dominated the game with 55% possession while Bangladesh only had 45%. Despite 14 fouls committed by the victorious team, no yellow card was shown to them.
It must be noted that Pakistan Football Team did not win a single game in their SAFF Championship journey.
Starting with a four-goal defeat against arch-rivals India, Men in Green were handed out another humiliation as the semi-finalists team Kuwait scored four past the Pakistani goalkeeper Yousuf Butt.
However, in their last group-stage game, Pakistan managed to defend a bit well and only conceded one goal in a dead rubber against Nepal.
Team Green ended their journey at the bottom of the points table in Group A, without scoring a single goal in three matches while they conceded nine.
India’s captain Sunil Chhetri is the top scorer of the tournament with five goals, he scored three against Pakistan alone.
Schedule for SAFF semi-finals
First Semi-final
July 1: Kuwait vs Bangladesh (Sree Kanteerava Stadium 2:30 pm)
Second Semi-final
July 1: India vs Lebanon (Sree Kanteerava Stadium 7:00 pm)
Final
July 2: Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2