The 2011 SAFF Championship final was the final match of the 2011 SAFF Championship which took place in India on 11 December 2011. The final match took place between India and Afghanistan. India entered the final as defending champions after winning their fifth title in 2009. While for Afghanistan this was their first final.[1][2]India thrashed Afghanistan 4–0 and won their sixth title[3]
India and Afghanistan started their tournament campaign by playing out a 1–1 draw. Balal Arezou's opener in the 5th minute was cancelled out by Sunil Chettri five minutes later.[6] The hosts then went on to win back-to-back matches against Bhutan and Sri Lanka by the margins of 5–0 and 3–0 respectively.[7][8] Meanwhile Afghanistan also picked up two consecutive wins against the same opponents including a 8–1 thrashing of Bhutan with striker Balal Arezou scoring four goals.[9]
Afghanistan reached their first international final after defeating Nepal in the semi-final in extra time. Balal Arezou scored the lone goal of the match in the 101th minute.[10] On the other hand defending champions India defeated Maldives 3–1 with the help of two goals scored by Sunil Chhetri and one goal by Syed Rahim Nabi.[11]
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