BENGALURU: Abdullah Albloushi struck the winner in the extra time to lift Kuwait to edge Bangladesh 1-0 and storm into the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship final.
The two sides were inseparable at the conclusion of the regulation time and thus the first semi-final of the ongoing SAFF Championship entered into the extra time.
Kuwait ultimately broke the tie in the 105th minute when Albloushi made an overlapping run and finished with a first-touch shot.
Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman was hapless as the ball slid away from him and into the far post and the referee soon blew the whistle, calling the half-time of the extra time.
Bangladesh, who were in dire need of firing an equalizer remained under pressure by Kuwait forwards and remained unable to find the space.
Rakib Hossain came close to scoring the equaliser for Bangladesh when he received a calculated long pass into the box by Biswanath Ghosh but his shot on the first touch was blocked by the feet of the goalkeeper.
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Bangladesh then made a couple of desperate efforts in the closing minutes of the extra time but failed to do so as Kuwait ran away with a thrilling victory.
The 1-0 victory over Bangladesh in the semi-final meant Kuwait, who are playing their first SAFF Championship as an invitee alongside Lebanon, made it to the final in their first attempt.
Notably, Kuwait enjoyed an unbeaten run in the ongoing SAFF Championship.
They started their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Nepal before handing a 4-0 thrashing to Pakistan.
Kuwait then collided with tournament host India in their last group fixture and got fortunate support from India’s Anwar Ali, whose late own goal lifted them to force a 1-1 stalemate.
It is worth mentioning here that host India will lock horns with Lebanon in the second SAFF Championship semi-final tonight at the same venue.
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