India will appear in back-to-back SAFF Championship finals as they beat Lebanon 4-2 in the penalty shootout in the second semi-final on Saturday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
The two teams could not be separated after 120 minutes of play as the match headed to the tie-breaker.
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All four Indian penalty takers - Sunil Chhetri, Anwar Ali, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Udanta Singh - found the back of the net while Hassan Matouk and Khalil Bader failed to convert their respective spot-kicks.
A clinical penalty shootout sees INDIA 🇮🇳 progress to the #SAFFChampionship2023 FINAL!💙#LBNIND ⚔️ #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/RH2luMdcOt
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 1, 2023
It was an evenly contested match where both teams had their fair share of chances to break the deadlock. Sahal Abdul Samad came very close to scoring the opening goal in the first half when he received a pass from Jeakson Singh inside the six-yard box but failed to keep his shot on target. The linesman, though, later signalled it as offside.
Skipper Sunil Chhetri came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the first half of the extra time but unfortunately, his header from a close range went above the crossbar.
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This was the third time that India faced Lebanon in an international match in the last three weeks. In the Intercontinental Cup, the two teams played out a goalless draw in the league stage and then India won the final 2-0 to lift the title.
Earlier in the day, Kuwait beat Bangladesh 1-0 to reach the final of the SAFF Championship. The Blue Tigers will square off against Kuwait in the SAFF final on July 4 in Bengaluru.
