Male, Mar 26 (PTI) Led by Omang Dodum’s brace, India delivered a strong performance to crush Pakistan 3-0 and advance to the semifinals of the SAFF U-20 Championship here on Thursday.
The high-octane clash at the National Football Stadium saw the Blue Colts secure their spot in the semifinals while simultaneously eliminating Pakistan from the tournament.
In just the third minute, Gurnaj Singh displayed exceptional vision, floating a perfectly weighted through ball into the box.
Vishal Yadav, who is the third youngest player to make his Indian Super League (ISL) debut for Punjab FC, controlled the aerial pass brilliantly under immense pressure and slotted it past the Pakistan goalkeeper at the near post to give India an early 1-0 advantage.
While Pakistan created several opportunities in the first half, the Indian defence and goalkeeper Suraj Aheibam stood tall, making crucial saves to maintain the clean sheet.
The second half, however, belonged entirely to Omang Dodum, who stepped up to seal the victory with a spectacular brace and was deservedly named the Player of the Match.
Dodum, the only returning member from India’s previous SAFF title-winning squad, continued his strong attacking form.
In the 64th minute, Dodum doubled India’s lead after timing his run to perfection, heading home a brilliant first-time effort off a cross-field diagonal pass from substitute Rishi.
Dodum then capped off a stellar individual and team performance in the dying minutes of the game.
After teammate Prashan Jajo was brought down inside the box in the 84th minute, Dodum confidently converted the resulting penalty into the top corner in the 88th minute to make it 3-0.
With this commanding victory, Indian side comfortably advanced to the knockout stages. The Blue Colts will next face Bangladesh on March 28 to conclude their group-stage campaign. PTI AH AH UNG
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