The Indian men’s football team reached the final of the SAFF Championship 2021 with a 3-1 win over home team Maldives on Wednesday. Sunil Chhetri scored a goal while Manveer Singh also found the back of the net to help India emerge victorious. In the final, India will face Nepal, whom they defeated in the tournament earlier. India took the lead in the match but Pritam’s foul in the penalty box from Kotal helped Maldives return to the draw.
However, Chhetri stepped up once again in the second half with a brace to help India take a two-goal lead and eventually cross the line.
India dominated the first half with the ball and even took the lead but Ali Ashfaq made a change from the spot to bring Maldives back on level terms.
India, who needed a win to make it to the SAFF Championship final, fought hard to find a spot and Manveer Singh gave them the lead in the 33rd minute with a shot at the near post.
However, Maldives did not give up and kept on moving forward. In the 44th minute, Pritam Kotal made a mistake in the box with a penalty, due to which the Maldivian striker did not commit any mistake.
The match was hot on the pitch from the start, which meant eons for both teams. Within half an hour, the referee showed three yellow cards, two of which belonged to Team India.
After the first goal, India coach Igor Stimac was careful to field Mandar Rao Desai and bring in Chinglensana Singh as Mandar was on the yellow card.
In the second half, India and Maldives started level but the visiting team dominated, taking advantage in the 62nd minute.
Apuia’s cross by Manveer is played on the way to Chhetri and the Indian captain makes no mistake and takes him home. With the lead in hand, India pushed even harder and Chhetri extended the lead in less than 10 minutes.
Chhetri made a brilliant loop header from the free kick and extended India’s lead by two goals.
However, this was not the end of the drama in the match. In the 81st minute, Indian head coach Igor Stimac was sent out after the referee showed him the second yellow of the night.
Maldives had a few half chances in the last 10 minutes but the home team could not make anything decisive. In stoppage time, Subhasish Bose took the second yellow and was sent off for a careless foul.
In the final, Stimac will not be there as coach for India while Subhashish will not be available in defence.
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