The Indian football team and the Lebanon football team produced a stunning football match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium stadium in Bengaluru as India won the semi-final 2 of the SAFF Championship 2023 through a 4-2 penalty shootout win against against the Lebanon team.
India vs Lebanon live score today: SAFF Championship Semi-Final
This was the third meeting in the last couple of days between the Indian football team and the Lebanon football team after both met in the Hero Intercontinental Cup.
And just like the previous two matches, it was always supposed to be a great clash between both the teams, who were not only fighting it out to make it to the final of the SAFF Championship, but also to grab that all important 18th FIFA Ranking in Asia to get the 2nd pot for the World Cup qualifier draw.
The competition lived-up to the expectations as both teams delivered a great competition and it needed the penalty shootout in the end to separate both the teams.
The 1st half was an exciting affair between the teams. Aleksandar Ilić's Lebanon football team started the match on the front foot with constant pressure on the Indian defenders and the goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
The first 15 or so about minutes Lebanon displayed their attacking football, creating some chances but failed to convert. But then the Indian football team produced a great comeback and dominated Lebanon for the remaining of the half despite Lebanon showing some fightback towards the end.
The Indian team got 2 great opportunities where both Jeakson and Pritam Kotal had the chance to give India the lead. While Kotal had to convert a close range header from the far post, Jeakson just had to take a shot, but prefered to pass it to more open Sahal Abdul Samad, who was instead offside. In the end, both the teams went inside the tunnel without scoring a goal.
The 2nd half was more fair and square battle between both the teams as both India and Lebanon created some great opportunities but failed to find the back of the net as the regulation time ended with both teams failing to open the scoring.
The extra time was also a great display from both the sides, but Team India captain Sunil Chhetri had a great opportunity to give the Blue Tigers the lead but he failed to convert a chance right infront of the goal. The same story continued in the 2nd half as well as the match ended in a goalless draw.
The Indian team finally got the victory in the penalty shootout by 4-2. The Indian captain Sunil Chhetri, Anwar Ali, Mahesh Naorem Singh and Udanta Singh converted for the Indian team while Lebanon captain Hassan Maatouk and Khalil Bader missed for Lebanon.
India vs Kuwait SAFF Championship 2023 Final
With this win for the Indian football team now, they will now take on the Kuwait football team once again, this time in the final of the SAFF Championship 2023 after they beat Bangladesh 1-0 earlier on in the 1st Semi-Final of the tournament.
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