The 2023 SAFF U-16 Championship was the 8th edition of the SAFF U-16 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-17 national teams organized by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). Its was played from 2–10 September 2023 in Thimphu, Bhutan.[1][2]
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host country | Bhutan |
Dates | 2–10 September 2023 |
Teams | 6 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
Final positions | |
Champions | India (5th title) |
Runners-up | Bangladesh |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 9 |
Goals scored | 27 (3 per match) |
Attendance | 16,475 (1,831 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Md Arbash (3 goals) |
Best player(s) | Md Arbash |
Best goalkeeper | Suraj Singh |
Fair play award | Pakistan |
← 2022 2024 → |
India are the defending champions, who won their fifth title in 2023 by defeating Bangladesh in the final. Pakistan were given the fair play award.[3]
Venue
editAll matches were held at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan.[1][2]
Thimphu | |
---|---|
Changlimithang Stadium | |
Capacity: 15,000 | |
Teams
editSri Lanka are ineligible for participation as they are suspended by FIFA.[4] Other six SAFF teams are eligible to participate.
Team | Appearances in the SAFF U-17 Championship |
Previous best performance |
---|---|---|
Bangladesh | 8th | Winners (2015, 2018) |
Bhutan | 6th | Fourth place (2017) |
India | 8th | Winners (2013, 2017, 2019, 2022) |
Maldives | 6th | Group stage (2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) |
Nepal | 8th | Runners-up (2013, 2017, 2019, 2022) |
Pakistan | 4th | Winners (2011) |
Draw
editThe draw was held in BFF House in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 22 July 2023 at 12:00 BST (UTC+6).[5]
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
---|---|---|
Bhutan (hosts) India |
Nepal Maldives |
Bangladesh Pakistan |
Draw result
edit
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Match officials
edit- Referees
- Assistant referees
Players eligibility
editPlayers born on or after 1 January 2007 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team has to register a squad of minimum 16 players and maximum 23 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers.
Group stage
edit- Times listed are UTC+06:00 Bhutan Time.
Key to colours in group tables | |
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Group winners and runners-up advance to the semi-finals |
- Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings.
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
- Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellots, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
- Drawing of lots.
Group A
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Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | India | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 6 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
2 | Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
3 | Nepal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
Bangladesh | 0–1 | India |
---|---|---|
Report | Thoungamba Singh 75' |
Nepal | 0–1 | Bangladesh |
---|---|---|
Report | Md Ashikur Rahman 47' |
Group B
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pakistan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
2 | Maldives | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
3 | Bhutan (H) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 0 |
Knockout stage
editBracket
editSemi-finals | Final | |||||
8 September – Thimphu | ||||||
India | 8 | |||||
10 September – Thimphu | ||||||
Maldives | 0 | |||||
India | 2 | |||||
8 September – Thimphu | ||||||
Bangladesh | 0 | |||||
Pakistan | 1 | |||||
Bangladesh | 2 | |||||
Semi-finals
editIndia | 8–0 | Maldives |
---|---|---|
|
Report |
Pakistan | 1–2 | Bangladesh |
---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Final
editIndia | 2–0 | Bangladesh |
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|
Report |
Winner
edit8th SAFF U-16 Championship 2023 Champions |
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India Fifth title |
Awards
editThe following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:
Fair Play Award | Goalkeeper | Golden Boot Award | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pakistan[6] | Suraj Singh[6] | Md Arbas[6] |
Statistics
editGoalscorers
editThere were 29 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 2.9 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Source: GSA
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "SAFF Championship: Groups revealed for U-16, U-19 youth events". Khel Now. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Draw revealed for SAFF U16 and U19 Championships". The AIFF. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ "India emerge SAFF U16 champions, make short work of Bangladesh in final". www.the-aiff.com. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Suspension of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) from 21 January 2023 until further notice" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "Draw revealed for SAFF U16 and U19 Championships". The AIFF. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ a b c "INDIA CROWNED CHAMPIONS OF SAFF U16 CHAMPIONSHIP 2023". www.safederation.org. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.