SAFF Cup 2018 | India beat Maldives 2-0 to top group B with six points
Goals from Manvir Singh and Nikhil Poojari ensured India a win in the final match of the group stage against the Maldives by a margin of 2-0 and assured India a spot in the semi-final stage of the SAFF Cup. India will face off against rivals, Pakistan, in the semis after a gap of almost five years.
A young and lively Indian football team has managed to make their way to the semifinals of the ongoing South Asian Football Federation Cup with a 2-0 win against the struggling Maldives. Maiden international goals from Nikhil Poojary (36th minute) and Manvir Singh (45th minute) helped India beat their counterparts as they topped group B with six points from two games.
Poojary could have put the Men in Blue in front with a goal in the 11th minute itself but despite getting all the power behind his header off an Anirudh Thapa cross, it went way over the crossbar. Poojary and the dangerous Lallianzuala Chhangte were constantly swapping positions on the wings that proved to leave the Maldives in a constant state of chaos.
Poojary eventually found the net as he pounced on a loose ball and sent it past the rival goalkeeper Mohamed Faisal in the 36th minute as India went 1-0 up. FC Goa forward Manvir Singh then doubled the lead at the stroke of half-time. Thapa managed to put through a gem of a pass for Manvir rounded off the rushing Faisal and slotted it home and handed India a comfortable lead going into the break.
It was mostly smooth sailing for the Indian team but in the 78th minute, an alert Indian goalkeeper Vishal Kaith had to come off his line and make a last-gasp clearance.
As a result of the win against Maldives, India will now play Pakistan in the semi-final of the SAFF Cup 2018. This will be the first time the two countries face-off in an official match after a gap of five years. The last time the two teams had met in an official match was also in SAFF Championship in Kathmandu in September 2013 in which India recorded a 1-0 win.
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