Maldives heads to semi-finals after tying with Bhutan
In the semi-finals, Maldives will face the losing team from the match between the host nation India and Nepal.
Maldives players celebrate after scoring against Bhutan
Maldives has secured a spot in the semi-finals in the ongoing Under-19 SAFF Championship, after drawing with Bhutan.
In their first match of the tournament, the Maldives faced Bangladesh. In the game, Bangladesh took a two-goal lead, but the Maldives managed to come from behind and equalize.
Bhutan had lost their first match to Bangladesh. Therefore, even when facing Bhutan, the Maldives had the opportunity to reach the semi-finals with just a draw.
In the tournament taking place in India, the match between Bhutan and the Maldives on Tuesday evening ended in a 2-2 draw.
Bhutan scored the first goal of the match and took the lead. However, the Maldives came from behind, scoring two goals and taking the lead. However, Bhutan managed to equalize with a late goal.
With just a minute left in the first half, Lam Tenzin gave Bhutan the lead. However, in the 75th minute of the second half, Aidh Mohamed Jawiz equalized for the Maldives.
In the additional time after the full 90 minutes, the Maldives took the lead for the first time with a goal from Ashham Ibrahim Mohamed. However, Chogyal Sherab scored afterwards to level the match for Bhutan.
With this result, Bangladesh claimed the top spot in the group and secured a semi-final berth with four points from two matches. Maldives followed in second place, advancing to the semi-finals with two points. Bhutan finished third with one point.
In the semi-finals, Maldives will face the losing team from the match between the host nation India and Nepal.
