India rout Afghanistan in SAFF C’ship semis

KABUL’s Championship in Colombo, an official said on Friday.

Grouped together with Nepal, the Maldives and Pakistan, Afghanistan finished second with four points after Nepal, which earned nine points, Afghan team’s manager Saboor Walizada told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Afghanistan qualified for the semifinals after Pakistan outplayed the Maldives 3-0 in the last group encounter on Wednesday, when Afghanistan tasted a massive 7-1 defeat at the hands of Nepal.

In the first half of the game, India scored four goals before adding another seven after the interval, leaving Afghanistan struggling.

Nepal with nine points finished group leaders and Afghanistan second with four points. Pakistan finished third and the Maldives fourth.

With 10 new faces, Afghanistan turned out to be an improved outfit on Monday when they trounced Pakistan 4-0 in their second group match — the first official win for the side in an international football event.

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