2018 SAFF Championship

2018 SAFF Championship২০১৮ সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ

Tournament details
Host country| Bangladesh
Dates| 4–15 September
Teams| 7 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)| 1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions|  Maldives (2nd title)
Runners-up|  India
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 12
Goals scored| 29 (2.42 per match)
Top scorer(s)|  Manvir Singh
Hassan Bashir
(3 goals)
Best player(s)|  Mohamed Faisal
Best goalkeeper|  Mohamed Faisal
Fair play award|  Bhutan

<- 2015

2021 ->

International football competition

During 2018 SAFF championship final Video of 2018 SAFF Championship Final (during the interval).

The 2018 SAFF Championship, also known as the 2018 SAFF Suzuki Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 12th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. It was initially scheduled to be hosted by Bangladesh in December 2017,[1] but later rescheduled to 4–15 September 2018.[2]

## Host selection

[edit]

On 2 January 2016, the SAFF executive committee made a decision that Bangladesh would host the 2017 SAFF Championship at a meeting held in Trivandrum, India. Maldives and Bhutan made bids to host the games but the latter withdrew its bid.[1]

This was the third SAFF Championship hosted by Bangladesh, after victory in the 2003 edition and semi-finalists in 2009.

The draw ceremony was held on 18 April 2018 in Dhaka.[3]

## Participating nations

[edit]

Country  | Appearance  | Previous best performance  | FIFA ranking
16 August 2018

|
|
|

Bangladesh (Host) | 11th | Champions (2003) | 194
Bhutan | 8th | Semi-finals (2008) | 183
India | 12th | Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015) | 96
Maldives | 10th | Champions (2008) | 150
Nepal | 12th | Third-Place (1993) | 161
Pakistan | 11th | Third-Place (1997) | 201
Sri Lanka | 12th | Champions (1995) | 200

### Squads

[edit]

Main article: 2018 SAFF Championship squads

## Venue

[edit]

Dhaka |

Dhaka

|

Bangabandhu National Stadium
Capacity: 36,000

## Officials

[edit]

Referees

* Rowan Arumughan
* Hasan Akrami
* Mohammad Arafah
* Hettikamkanamge Perera
* Hanna Hattab
* Sivakorn Pu-udom

Assistant Referees

* Manir Ahmmad Dali
* Sapam Kennedy
* Hassan Zeheiri
* Priyanga Palliya Guruge
* Apichit Nophuan
* Ali Mohammed Al Hasani

## Group stage

[edit]

All times are local, BST (UTC+6:00).

### Group A

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Nepal | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 7  | 2  | +5  | 6  | Qualified for semi-finals
2  |  Pakistan | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 5  | 2  | +3  | 6
3  |  Bangladesh (H) | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 3  | 2  | +1  | 6  |
4  |  Bhutan | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 0  | 9  | −9  | 0

Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts

4 September 2018 (2018-9-4)

16:00

Nepal | 1-2|  Pakistan

|
|

* B. Magar 82'

| Report |

* Bashir 36' (pen.)
* Mu. Ali 90+6'

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)

4 September 2018 (2018-9-4)

19:00

Bangladesh | 2-0|  Bhutan

|
|

* Barman 3' (pen.)
* M. Rahman 47'

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

* * *

6 September 2018 (2018-9-6)

16:00

Nepal | 4-0|  Bhutan

|
|

* A. Tamang 21'
* Bal 71'
* Khawas 79'
* Khadka 88'

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Rowan Arumughan (India)

6 September 2018 (2018-9-6)

19:00

Bangladesh | 1-0|  Pakistan

|
|

* Barman 85'

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

* * *

8 September 2018 (2018-9-8)

16:00

Pakistan | 3-0|  Bhutan

|
|

* Riaz 20'
* Bashir 29'
* Faheem 90+1'

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

8 September 2018 (2018-9-8)

19:00

Bangladesh | 0-2|  Nepal

|
|

| Report |

* B. Magar 33'
* N. Shrestha 90'

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

### Group B

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  India | 2  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 0  | +4  | 6  | Qualified for semi-finals
2  |  Maldives | 2  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 0  | 2  | −2  | 1[a]
3  |  Sri Lanka | 2  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 0  | 2  | −2  | 1[a] |

Source: RSSSF
Notes:

1. ^ a b Maldives and Sri Lanka were level on points, goal difference, goals against and head-to-head. The winner was decided by a coin toss.[4]

5 September 2018 (2018-9-5)

19:00

India | 2-0|  Sri Lanka

|
|

* Kuruniyan 35'
* Chhangte 47'

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

* * *

7 September 2018 (2018-9-7)

19:00

Maldives | 0-0|  Sri Lanka

|
|

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)

* * *

9 September 2018 (2018-9-9)

19:00

India | 2-0|  Maldives

|
|

* Poojari 36'
* M. Singh 44'

| Report |

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

## Knockout phase

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Semi-finals| | Final

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| 12 September| |

|  Nepal| 0

| 15 September

|  Maldives| 3 |

|  Maldives| 2

| 12 September

| |  India| 1

|  India| 3

|  Pakistan| 1 |

### Semi-finals

[edit]

12 September 2018 (2018-9-12)

16:00

Nepal | 0-3|  Maldives

|
|

| Report |

* Ghanee 9'
* I. Hassan 84', 86'

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

12 September 2018 (2018-9-12)

19:30

India | 3-1|  Pakistan

|
|

* M. Singh 48', 69'
* Passi 84'

| Report |

* Bashir 88'[a]

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

### Final

[edit]

Main article: 2018 SAFF Championship Final

15 September 2018 (2018-9-15)

19:00

Maldives | 2-1|  India

|
|

* Mahudhee 19'
* Fasir 66'

| Report |

* Passi 90+2'

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

## Champion

[edit]

SAFF Championship 2018

Maldives
Second title

## Awards

[edit]

The following awards were given for the 2018 SAFF Championship.

Fair Play award[6] | Most Valuable Player[7] | Top Goalscorer[b][9][10]

|
|

Bhutan |  Mohamed Faisal |  Manvir Singh

Hassan Bashir

## Goalscorers

[edit]

There were 29 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2.42 goals per match.

3 goals

* Manvir Singh
* Hassan Bashir

2 goals

* Topu Barman
* Sumeet Passi
* Ibrahim Waheed Hassan
* Bimal Gharti Magar

1 goal

* Mahbubur Rahman
* Lallianzuala Chhangte
* Ashique Kuruniyan
* Nikhil Poojari
* Ali Fasir
* Akram Abdul Ghanee
* Ibrahim Mahudhee
* Sunil Bal
* Nirajan Khadka
* Bharat Khawas
* Nawayug Shrestha
* Ananta Tamang
* Ahmed Faheem
* Muhammad Ali
* Muhammad Riaz

## Media coverage

[edit]

Country  | Broadcaster  | Ref.

|
|

Bangladesh | Channel 9 | [11]
India | D Sport | [12]
Maldives | Television Maldives |
Nepal | AP1 Television |
United States | Bleacher Report | [13][14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Bangladesh to host 2017 SAFF Championship". bdnews24.com. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
2. ^ "GoalNepal.com – A Complete Nepali Football website". www.goalnepal.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
3. ^ Independent, The. "SAFF tourney in Dhaka in Apr". theindependentbd.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
4. ^ "India 2-0 Maldives". SAFF. 9 September 2018. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
5. ^ Suzuki Cup, SAFF (12 September 2018). "India vs Pakistan". Youtube.
6. ^ "Fair Play Award". 15 September 2018.
7. ^ "Most Valuable Player". 15 September 2018.
8. ^ Suzuki Cup, SAFF (12 September 2018). "India vs Pakistan". Youtube.
9. ^ "South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, 2018 - goal scorers". 11vs11.
10. ^ "Top Goalscorer". 15 September 2018.
11. ^ "Bangabandhu Satellite-1 starts operation with Saff Suzuki Cup coverage". Dhaka Tribune. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
12. ^ "SAFF Championship 2018: Teams, fixtures, broadcast schedules and more". Goal.com. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
13. ^ "B/R Live – Watch live sports online". live.bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
14. ^ "Bleacher Report Support - Answer Detail". support.live.bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2018.

1. ^ Although RSSSF erroneously lists Muhammad Ali as the scorer against India, the goal was scored by Hassan Bashir.[5]
2. ^ Although RSSSF erroneously lists Muhammad Ali as the scorer against India, the goal was scored by Hassan Bashir.[8]

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2018 SAFF Championship.

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*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template