India tops group B in SAFF U-19

Nepal meets Afghanistan, India faces Bangladesh in semifinal

KATHMANDU, Aug 25: South Asian powerhouse India advanced into the semifinal as group B winner after a thumping 3-0 win over Maldives in the First U-19 SAFF Championship, at the ANFA Complex ground in Satdobato, Lalitpur.

With the win, India maintained its cent percent winning streak to finish on top of the standings with six points and avoid Nepal for a semifinal clash. For a place in the final, India will meet group A runner up Bangladesh in the semifinal on Thursday while Nepal will meet Afghanistan, the runner up of group A, on the same day. Afghanistan finished with three points, while Maldives crashed out without opening account in the three-team group.

\Moinuddin, Lalramzuava Khinangte and Anirudh Thapa were on target for India who had to struggle until the late first half to get the breakthrough. Moinuddin put India ahead in the 41st minute before surviving few scare from the Islanders. Moinuddin stole the ball from Maldives' defender Najah Husssain Nasif, dribbled past Ali Solah before beating custodian Maeesh Mohamed from close range to put the ball at the back of net.

Maldives squandered a golden chance of leveling the scores three minutes later when it missed a penalty. Ibrahim Atheeq side netted the penalty awarded to the Islanders after Kamalpreet Singh of India handled the ball inside the danger zone.

Rejuvenated India doubled the advantage two minutes after the break through Lalramzuava Khinangte fed by Daniel. India ensured the victory in the 71st minute through Anirudh Thapa when he slammed in a low cross from Prashant Karuthadathkuni.

Maldives coach Athif Mohamed opined that his side failed to carry the same moment of first half after the break. "We came up with good show in the first half. We also created a few chances but the inability to get score frustrated the players. Overall, it was a good experience since it is the first international outing of the team. I should thank the SAFF for organizing this tournament before the AFC U-19 qualifiers," he said.

Indian coach Syed Sabir Pasha reiterated that his team was yet to get used to the playing and weather conditions of the place. "Except for a few players, many have not been able to cope with the playing and weather conditions here. We could be a much powerful side when all my players get used to playing conditions," he summed up.