The Indian senior men's team will face Lebanon for the third time in little over a fortnight in the semi-final of the Bangabandhu SAFF Championship 2023 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, here on Saturday.
After playing out a goalless draw in the group stage, the Blue Tigers secured a convincing 2-0 win over the Cedars to claim the Intercontinental Cup title in Bhubaneswar. Igor Stimac's men then travelled to the south of India to take part in the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship, which is also the first to feature guest teams like Lebanon and Kuwait.
India finished Group A in second spot, only trailing Kuwait on goals scored, with wins over Pakistan (4-0) and Nepal (2-0). The top spot was within the hosts' grasp as they led 1-0 against Kuwait just six minutes before the full-time whistle on Tuesday until Anwar Ali's own goal restored parity, leaving India to remain content with second place.
The day after, Lebanon edged Maldives 1-0 to end their Group B campaign with a perfect nine points, adding to their wins over Bangladesh (20) and Bhutan (4-1).
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