The 2018 SAFF Championship final was a football match that took place on 15 September 2018 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka. It was announced that the matches during the tournament, including the final, would take place at the Bangabandhu nation stadium, Dhaka.[1] The Maldives came out 2–1 winners against India to secure their second SAFF Championship.[2][3]
India and Maldives were in the same group alongside Sri Lanka, against whom both these teams played their first match.[4] Maldives were held onto a 0–0 draw by Lankans but India defeated them 2–0.[5] This result left Maldives and Sri Lanka level on points, goal difference, goals against and head-to-head. The place for the semi-final spot was then decided by a coin toss in which Maldives came on top.[6][7][8]
In the first semi-final Maldives defeated Nepal 3–0 and in the second semi-final match India defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan by the score of 3–1 to reach the final.[9][10][11]
India came to this tournament with a young squad missing senior players like Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as part of preparation for their 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign.[12]
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