INDIA BEAT MALDIVES, FACE PAKISTAN IN SAFF LAST FOUR

DHAKA : India defeated Maldives 2-0 in their final group game at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday to set up a semi-final clash against Pakistan at the ongoing South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship.

First half goals from Nikhil Poojary and Manvir Singh settled the game in India’s favour as the maritime neighbours failed to breach Vishal Kaith’s goal throughout the 90 minutes.

India started the game brightly and put Maldives under early pressure, with a header by Poojary from an Anirudh Thapa cross sailing over the bar. Stephen Constantine’s side continued to prod Maldives through the wings and managed to create a few chances early on.

Poojary finally broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when he pounced on a loose ball to score past Maldives goalkeeper Mohamed Faisal.

Eight minutes later, Manvir doubled the lead when he was set through on goal by Thapa. The forward rounded off Faisal and put the ball on the back of the net.

Maldives, meanwhile, continued to look to reduce the margin and were only prevented from doing so by a timely Jerry Lalrinzuala interception in the 73rd minute. Constantine’s side, however, held on to finish the group stage with a maximum of six points from two games.

COIN TOSS

The loss meant that Maldives were level on points, goals scored and conceded, as well as head-to-head, with Sri Lanka. The deadlock had to be broken with the help of a coin toss by the organisers. Maldives won the toss to seal a place in the semis.

PAKISTAN NEXT

India will be playing Pakistan in an official match after a gap of five years.

SEMI-FINAL LINE-UP

Nepal will take on Maldives in the first semi-final on Wednesday, with kick off at 3:30 pm IST. India’s last-four clash against Pakistan will be held on the same day at 7 pm.