Sports News | Anurag Thakur Praises Indian Football Team to Secure SAFF Championship Final Spot in Penalty Shootout Against Lebanon
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. India defeated Lebanon 4-2 in a penalty shootout to storm into the SAFF Championship 2023 final at Bengaluru on Saturday.
New Delhi [India], July 2 (ANI): Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur praised the Indian football team for their brilliant win over Lebanon in a penalty shootout in the semi-final to secure their place in SAFF Championship final.
India defeated Lebanon 4-2 in a penalty shootout to storm into the SAFF Championship 2023 final at Bengaluru on Saturday.
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Anurag Thakur wrote on his Twitter handle, "#BlueTigers through to #SAFF2023 Final with 4 amazing kicks and few fantastic saves from goalkeeper @GurpreetGK, Team India defeated Lebanon 4-2 in a penalty shootout to reach their 13th #SAFFChampionship Final Brilliant effort team, best of luck for the final against Kuwait #IndianFootball."
https://twitter.com/ianuragthakur/status/1675209832213942272
India will take on Kuwait in the final on Tuesday. India have also moved up one spot to 100th in latest FIFA rankings.
In the other semi-final, Kuwait reached the final after defeating Bangladesh 1-0.
It was left to penalties to decide the semi-final match after regulation time finished without a goal and extra time failed to produce a winner. Hassan Maatouk and Khalil Bader for Lebanon missed their penalties in the shootout while India converted all four of theirs.
India has previously defeated Lebanon twice, most recently by 2-0 margin in the Intercontinental Cup 2023 final.
India drew 1-1 with Kuwait in their last Group A match after defeating Pakistan 4-0 in their first meeting. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)