Bengaluru (28th June) - Lebanon beat Maldives 1-0 today to confirm a spot in the semifinals as Group B winners while this defeat has left Maldives on the brink of a group stage exit from SAFF Championship 2023.
Lebanon confirmed the top spot in Group B after winning all three games of the group. Lebanon will face the runners-up of group B, India in the semifinals.
With today’s defeat, two-time champions Maldives are on the brink of exiting the group stage of the SAFF Championship for the first in the competition's history. Maldives has a slight hope of a spot in the semifinals if Bhutan beats Bangladesh by a margin of three goals or more.
Maldives knew that nothing but a win will be sufficient to keep their hopes alive and they started the game with attacking intent. Early efforts in the first half were not on target.
Lebanon took the lead in the 23rd minute when Hassan Maatouk scored from a free kick from the edge of the box. Maldives goalkeeper Hussain Shareef was helpless as Maathouk’s shot breached the defensive wall of Maldives.
In a game of few chances for both teams, Maldives tried hard to get an equalizer in the second half and almost had an open chance when Hamza Mohamed was through on goal from a counterattack in the 80th minute. But, the ball hit Hamza’s hand when he tried to control it and the linesman spotted the infringement.
Maldives improved their performance compared to the first 2 games, but it was to no avail as Lebanon defended their lead comfortably to earn the three points.
