SAFF Football Tournament: India beats Lebanon to reach finals
Bangalore: India’s Jaitra Yatra continues in the SAFF Football Tournament, and the Indian team led by Chhetri has made it to the final after defeating the Lebanese team.
The home side, who thrilled a crowd of around 20,000 at the Kantheerava Stadium on Saturday night, reached the title round for a record 13th time. India defeated Lebanon 4–2 in penalty shootout to enter the final of SAFF Football Championship. A penalty shootout was called for as no goals were scored in the regular and extra time games. Team India captain Sunil Chhetri, Anwar Ali, Mahesh Singh and Udanta Singh scored goals in the shootout.
Hassan Matook’s first kick for Lebanon was saved by Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu by jumping to his left. The goals came on the second and third kicks. As Khalil Bader’s fourth kick went off the top of the goal post, the Indian players celebrated. The audience danced and cheered for victory.
13th time finals entry
Team India has entered the final for the 13th time in the SAFF Championship. It was the 14th tournament overall, failing to reach the title round only once. In 1995, it was ranked third. Indian team is 8 times champions and 4 times runners up.
