SAFF U-17 Championship 2024: India to face Nepal in semis

The group stage of the SAFF U-17 Championship 2024 is over as Pakistan and Nepal have qualified for the Semi-finals. The upcoming Semi-finals are set and both semis will be played on 28th September 2024 at Changlimithang Stadium in Bhutan.

Soumit BhattacharyaSeptember 26, 2024 at 10:50 AM4 min read
SAFF U-17 Championship 2024: India to face Nepal in semis
The group stage of the SAFF U-17 Championship 2024 is over as Pakistan and Nepal have qualified for the Semi-finals. The upcoming Semi-finals are set and both semis will be played on 28th September 2024 at Changlimithang Stadium in Bhutan.

The semi-finalists for the SAFF U-17 Championship 2024 have been confirmed after the conclusion of the group stage matches.

The Pakistan U-17 team secured their spot in the semi-finals by defeating Sri Lanka U-17 with a score of 5-1, finishing on top of Group B. They will face Bangladesh U-17, who qualified as the runners-up of Group A.

Nepal U-17 has qualified for the semis as well after defeating Bhutan U-17 in a do-or-die match by 2-1 in the final group stage game. They have proceeded in the semis as Group B runners-up and are set to challenge Group A winners India U-17 in the semi-final. 

Both semi-finals are scheduled to take place at the Changlimithang Stadium in Bhutan on September 28, 2024.

Scenario of Group A in the Group Stage 

India U-17-SAFF U-17 Championship 2024-sportzpoint.com
India U-17 against Bangladesh U-17 ( Image Courtesy | Social News XYZ )

Group A included three teams: India U-17, Bangladesh U-17, and Maldives U-17.

India U-17 and Bangladesh U-17 faced each other in the inaugural game of the SAFF U-17 Championship 2024 on 20th September 2024. Indian youngsters defeated Bangladesh by 1-0 and earned their first three points in the tournament. Bangladesh U-17 managed a 1-1 draw against Maldives U-17 in the second group game and India U-17 thrashed Maldives U-17 by 3-0 in the last group match. 

India U-17 qualified as Group A winners whereas Bangladesh U-17 earned their second-place qualification based on goal difference. 

Final Standings of Group A

             Teams      M    W     D     L    GF    GA    GD  Points
(Q) India U-17 2 2 0 0 4 0 4 6
(Q) Bangladesh U-17 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1
      Maldives U-17 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 1

Group B positions in the Group Stage 

Pakistan U-17-SAFF U-17 Championship 2024-sportzpoint.com
Pakistan U-17 defeated Bhutan U-17 yestersday.( Image Courtesy | FootballPakistan.com)

Group B consisted of four teams: Pakistan U-17, Nepal U-17, Sri Lanka U-17, and the hosts of the tournament, Bhutan U-17.

Pakistan U-17 defeated Nepal U-17 by 1-0 in the opening match of Group B and Bhutan U-17 completely outplayed Sri Lanka U-17 by 5-1. In the second round, Nepal U-17 eased past Sri Lanka U-17 by 4-0 whereas Bhutan U-17 made a heroic comeback to steal a draw against Pakistan by 3-3 after scoring 2 goals in the last ten minutes of the game. 

Pakistan U-17 has bounced back stronger after beating Sri Lanka U-17 by 5-1 yesterday to confirm themselves as the group winners. In the last match of the overall group stage Nepal U-17 pulled off another comeback to win by 2-1 yesterday as well after the hosts Bhutan U-17 led at half-time by 1-0. Nepal U-17 earned their qualification to semis as the runners-up of Group B.                                           

Final Standings of Group B

Teams      M     W     D     L    GF   GA   GD  Points
(Q) Pakistan U-17 3 2 1 0 9 4 5 7
(Q) Nepal U-17 3 2 0 1 6 2 4 6
      Bhutan U-17 3 1 1 1 9 6 3 4
      Sri Lanka U-17 3 0 0 3 2 14 -12 0

 

Semi-finals 

Both semi-finals are scheduled to take place at the Changlimithang Stadium in Bhutan on September 28, 2024. 

Semi-final 1 |  India U-17 (Group A winners) vs Nepal U-17 (Group B Runners-up)

Semi-final 2 |  Pakistan U-17 (Group B winners) vs Bangladesh U-17 (Group A Runners-up)

The winners of the semi-finals will face off for the ultimate showdown in the Final on 30th September 2024 at the Changlimithang Stadium in Bhutan. 

 

Soumit Bhattacharya

Soumit Bhattacharya's path to football content writing has been a natural progression of his innate love for sports, especially for football. Being a dedicated football enthusiast since childhood, he is well-versed and has a profound passion for the beautiful game, sharing readers a vast knowledge base through insighful narratives.

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