2018 SAFF Championship

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]

2018 SAFF Championship

২০১৮ 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 →

During 2018 SAFF championship final

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

Host selection

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

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

Main article: 2018 SAFF Championship squads

Venue

Dhaka	Dhaka
Bangabandhu National Stadium
Capacity: 36,000

Officials

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

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

Group A

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

Nepal	1–2	Pakistan
B. Magar 82'	Report	Bashir 36' (pen.) Mu. Ali 90+6'

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)

16:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)

Bangladesh	2–0	Bhutan
Barman 3' (pen.) M. Rahman 47'	Report

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

---

Nepal	4–0	Bhutan
A. Tamang 21' Bal 71' Khawas 79' Khadka 88'	Report

6 September 2018 (2018-09-06)

16:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Rowan Arumughan (India)

Bangladesh	1–0	Pakistan
Barman 85'	Report

6 September 2018 (2018-09-06)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

---

Pakistan	3–0	Bhutan
Riaz 20' Bashir 29' Faheem 90+1'	Report

8 September 2018 (2018-09-08)

16:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

Bangladesh	0–2	Nepal
	Report	B. Magar 33' N. Shrestha 90'

8 September 2018 (2018-09-08)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Group B

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. 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]

India	2–0	Sri Lanka
Kuruniyan 35' Chhangte 47'	Report

5 September 2018 (2018-09-05)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

---

Maldives	0–0	Sri Lanka
	Report

7 September 2018 (2018-09-07)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)

---

India	2–0	Maldives
Poojari 36' M. Singh 44'	Report

9 September 2018 (2018-09-09)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Knockout phase

Bracket

	Semi-finals				Final
	12 September
	Nepal	0
					15 September
	Maldives	3
					Maldives	2
	12 September
					India	1
	India	3
	Pakistan	1

Semi-finals

Nepal	0–3	Maldives
	Report	Ghanee 9' I. Hassan 84', 86'

12 September 2018 (2018-09-12)

16:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

India	3–1	Pakistan
M. Singh 48', 69' Passi 84'	Report	Bashir 88'[a]

12 September 2018 (2018-09-12)

19:30

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

Final

Main article: 2018 SAFF Championship Final

Maldives	2–1	India
Mahudhee 19' Fasir 66'	Report	Passi 90+2'

15 September 2018 (2018-09-15)

19:00

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

Champion

SAFF Championship 2018
Maldives Second title

Awards

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

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

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