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On Saturday, July 1, 2023, Lebanon and India faced off on a football pitch for the third time in less than a month. Following on from the recent Intercontinental Cup (June 9-18), where the two countries played out a 0-0 draw in the round-robin group phase before India prevailed 2-0 in the final, the Cedars and the Indians met late Saturday afternoon in the Final Four of the SAFF Cup. Once again, it was the Indians who triumphed over the Lebanese, but not without difficulty this time (0-0 after extra time, 4-2 on penalties), qualifying for the final on Tuesday, July 4. Lebanon, on the other hand, came very close.
In the day’s other semi-final, which pitted Kuwait against Bangladesh earlier in the afternoon, the Gulf nation emerged victorious from their clash with the South Asian country by a narrow 1-0 scoreline. Kuwait will now play India in the final. As the tournament does not include a match for 3rd place, Lebanon and Bangladesh are eliminated for good.
A fine course
Lebanon and Kuwait had been invited to take part in the 2023 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, held in Bangalore in central India, to make up for the absence of Sri Lanka – banned from all competitions for a year by the International Football Federation (FIFA). This championship, commonly known as the SAFF Cup, began on Thursday, June 22 with the group phase and is due to end on Tuesday, July 4 with the final. This international tournament is played in two groups of four teams each (eight nations in all). Lebanon was drawn in Pool B with the Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan, while Pool A featured Kuwait, host country India, Nepal and Pakistan.
Despite their elimination at the semi-final stage, Lebanon had a fine course in the competition: they emerged from the first round (group phase) unbeaten and on top of the standings (9 points), with three wins from three matches. They had beaten Bangladesh (2-0) to open the tournament, then dominated Bhutan (4-1) before seeing off the Maldives (1-0). In the Final Four, however, they came up against a stronger opponent…
