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India vs Lebanon preview: The India men’s football team will be counting on their recent success against Lebanon when the two sides lock horns in the second semi-final of the 2023 SAFF Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. The Blue Tigers qualified for the semis with convincing victories over Pakistan (4-0) and Nepal (2-0) in during the group stage. They missed out on three victories in as many matches after an own goal from Anwar Ali during the match against Kuwait following a Sunil Chhetri goal resulted in a 1-1 stalemate. Lebanon, on the other hand, won all three of their Group B matches. They defeated Bangladesh 2-0 in their opening encounter and followed it up with a dominant 4-1 victory over Bhutan, before beating Maldives in their final encounter. India and Lebanon had met twice during the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium last month. While the first match ended in a goalless stalemate, India ended up winning the final 2-0. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .
India vs Lebanon Highlights, 2023 SAFF Championship semi-final in Bengaluru: India defeat Lebanon 4-2 on penalties
India vs Lebanon, SAFF Championship 2023 semi-final Highlights and Latest Update: India 0-0 Lebanon; INDIA WIN! The Blue Tigers defeat Lebanon 4-2 in the penalty shootout after the two teams remain goalless at the end of extra time!
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That brings us to the end of our coverage of a thrilling SAFF Championship semi-final between India and Lebanon, with the Blue Tigers once again prevailing over the Cedars. The Igor Stimac-coached side now turn their focus to the summit clash against Kuwait that takes place on Tuesday, 4 July. Kuwait had held India to a 1-1 draw in the group meeting. Can India prevail over them this time around?
On behalf of my colleagues at Firstpost, this is Amit signing off, bidding you all good night and wishing everyone a happy Sunday.
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“We aren’t thinking about the final right now. It was hard work, neck to neck, then we went to penalties. It’s never easy. Now we go back and recuperate, and make sure we are ready for the final,” says Blue Tigers striker and captain Sunil Chhetri.
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“Great for us. The kind of work we have been putting in, it is showing. We are not letting the opposition in that much,” says India goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu, whose save to deny Maatouk in the shootout allowed India to surge ahead, after the victory.
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Players from both sides are reduced to tears at the end of what turned out to be a thrilling conclusion to the second semi-final — joy for the Indians, heartbreak for the Lebanese. Coach Igor Stimac, who has been handed a two-match ban, cannot help make his way to the sideline to celebrate with the players.
The Blue Tigers perform the customary Viking chant with the legion of fans at the Kanteerava following their victory. With this victory, India have beaten Lebanon for a second time in as many meetings.
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BADER MISSES! INDIA DEFEAT LEBANON 4-2 ON PENALTIES TO PROGRESS TO THE 2023 SAFF CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL!
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GOAL! Udanta scores! Sabeh dives to his left, Udanta targets the top corner on the opposite direction! Narrows the gap. India 4-2 Lebanon.
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GOAL! Sadek scores despite Gurpreet diving in the right direction. Narrows the gap. India 3-2 Lebanon.
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GOAL! Mahesh scores, sending Sabeh the wrong way!! INDIA 3-1 Lebanon
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GOAL! Shour scores, and Lebanon finally open their account! INDIA 2-1 Lebanon
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GOAL! Anwar doubles the Blue Tigers lead after sending Lebanese goalkeeper the wrong way! INDIA 2-0 Lebanon
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Maatouk’s next for Lebanon, and HE MISSES! Gurpreet makes the correct guess, and blocks the ball out! INDIA 1-0 Lebanon
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GOAL! Chhetri takes the first kick, and scores! INDIA 1-0 Lebanon
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India, it appears, will be taking the first kick in the penalty shootout. Lebanon will have a fresh Ali Sabeh at the centre while Gurpreet Singh Sandhu will continue for India.
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120+3’: The second semi-final heads to the penalty shootout with India and Lebanon still goalless at the end of extra time! The last 15 minutes of extra time belonged to Lebanon, who were pressing forward a lot more frequently and kept the Indian defence a lot busier.
It’s anybody’s game now though!
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120+2’: Couple of changes for Lebanon: goalkeeper Ali Sabeh replaces Mehdi Khalil keeping the penalty shootout in mind. Additionally, Ali Al-Sabaa comes in place of the injured Nader Matar.
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120’: Chhangte finds himself facing the goalkeeper and a defender, and his shot is cleared away to safety by Lebanese custodian Khalil before the defender kicks the ball for a throw-in. Three minutes added to the second half of extra time after the clock hits the 120-minute mark.
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117’: Three minutes to go before the semi-final is decided on penalties. Lebanon are awarded a couple of throw-ins, but aren’t quite able to threaten the Indian defence on either occasion.
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112’: Excellent interception by the Indian defence after Karim Darwich manages to make his way into the box. Udanta leads the Blue Tigers’ counter-attack, but his shot from inside the box gets deflected off keeper Khalil.
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110’: Maatouk cuts the ball in from the edge of the box on the right flank, but Anwar Ali manages to intercept and keeper Sandhu safely collects it before throwing it forward.
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109’: Bader goes for an ambitious right-footed shot from the left flank outside the box, and though Sandhu is unable to get his gloves to the ball, it ends up going wide.
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106’: Lebanon get the second half of extra time underway! Another 15 minutes of play, aside from extra time, before the game is decided on penalties! Lebanon get a throw in in the opening minute of the second half.
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105+3’: End of the first half of extra time! The referee whistle goes off for a third time today with both teams yet to score. Has been quite the intense battle between the Blue Tigers and the Cedars though.
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105’: Three minutes added at the end of the first half of extra time.
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104’: Chhetri appears furious after an attempted header off a cross from the far left goes wide of the post. India have created several chances in the dying minutes of the second half as well as in extra time so far, and one could say they have been the superior side in the last 20 minutes or so. The finish, however, is still lacking, and the Lebanese defence remains watertight.
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101’: Corner for India after a Lebanese defender intercepts a cross by Chhangte from the left that was intended for Chhetri, who only had the goalkeeper to beat. Udanta’s header in the resulting corner goes wide past the right post.
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96’: Another close chance goes begging for the Indians, and it’s Chhetri once again! Udanta sets the striker up with an excellent cross from just outside the box on the right flank, and Chhetri hardly connects in his shot, resulting in the the ball fizzling away for a goal kick.
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94’: Narrow miss for Chhetri! This is about the closest the Indians have come to breaking the deadlock tonight, and Chhetri’s shot is on target. Lebanese goalkeeper Khalil does well to palm this out of the way.
Meanwhile, Khalil Bader replaces Hussein Zein for the Cedars in extra time.
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91’: Extra time’s underway at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium with both sides on equal terms at the moment, though one could say the Blue Tigers have produced more chances along the way. Can Udanta’s late introduction bring about a change for the Indians?
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90+7’: FULL TIME AT THE SREE KANTEERAVA! Free kick awarded to the Indians in the final minute of injury time after a sliding tackle by Darwich on Chhangte that results in a yellow for the former. The Blue Tigers though, can’t quite penetrate the Cedars’ defence from the set play, and the referee’s whistle goes off right after!
With that, we head into extra time in the second semi-final of the 2023 SAFF Championship!
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90+2’: India get a free kick after Akash Mishra is brought down by two defenders while on a spirited charge during a counter-attack. Lebanon similarly get a free kick a minute later after Poojary fouls Maatouk. Neither side profit from the set play.
The Blue Tigers make a fifth change — bringing in Udanta for Ashique
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89’: India get a couple of corners in the dying minutes of the second half, but the Lebanese defence are doing an outstanding job at the moment. The ball gets kicked away to safety on both occasions. Meanwhile, five minutes have been added to the clock in injury time.
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87’: India get a corner with less than four minutes left in regulation time, taken by Mahesh. The header hits the top bar before landing in the net, although it appears to have got a deflection off a Lebanese defender along the way. India get another corner, this time from the opposite flag. Nothing comes off it though.
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85’: The referee blasts his whistle after a collision between Anwar Ali and Karim Darwich near the touchline. Free kick awarded to India. The Cedars defence though manages to clear it towards the centre.
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83’: Another ambitious shot by Maatouk from inside the box after being fed a pass by Farran from the left flank, but the ball sails high over Indian keeper Gurpreet.
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74’: India make a triple substitution:
OUT: Anirudh Thapa, Subhashish Bose and Sahal Abdul Samad
IN: Naorem Mahesh Singh, Akash Mishra and Rohit Kumar
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72’: Excellent work by Lebanese defender, kicking the ball away to safety for a throw-in from the centre of the box after a cross from the left flank by Ashique following a one-two with Sahal. A minute later, India get a corner from the right flag, taken by Thapa, but Jeakson’s header goes over the Lebanese goalpost.
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70’: Naorem Mahesh Singh appears to be India’s next change, and he’s standing in front of the touchline, ready for the battle.
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60’: We’ve passed the hour mark in the game. Three yellow cards. Two substitutions. Plenty of chances, but no goals.
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57’: Both teams make changes after halftime. Karim Darwich replaces Ali Makabawi for the Cedars. Nikhil Poojary replaces Pritam Kotal for the Blue Tigers.
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46’: Play resumes at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium after halftime in the second semi-final of the 2023 SAFF Championship. No changes yet for either side.