Sanfida Nongrum’s second-half strike sent India into the SAFF Women’s Championship final, but coach Crispin Chhetri criticised his side’s attitude and admitted Bhutan ‘deserved to win’ after a scrappy 1-0 semi-final victory.
IMAGE: Sanfida Nongrum (centre) celebrates with teammates on scoring the decisive goal in the 58th minute to send India into the final. Photograph: AIFF
The Indian football team survived a scare before defeating Bhutan 1-0 to march into the final of the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Wednesday.
Key Points
- Head coach Crispin Chhetri criticised his team’s attitude and performance despite the victory.
- Chhetri said India “didn’t deserve to win” and felt Bhutan showed greater heart and determination.
- The hosts squandered several scoring opportunities and were fortunate not to concede in the first half.
- India will face defending champions Bangladesh in Friday’s final after Bangladesh beat Nepal 2-1.
Sanfida Nongrum scored in the 58th minute to take world No. 69 India into Friday’s final against reigning champions Bangladesh. Bangladesh edged Nepal 2-1 in the first semi-final earlier in the evening.
But in the semi-final, India played nothing like five-time SAFF Women’s Championship winners.
Fielding players from the development team, the hosts wasted chances galore in the first half, as they tested the Bhutan defence, but couldn’t put the finishing touches.
Ranked nearly 100 places above Bhutan, India controlled possession for long periods but couldn’t break down the compact Bhutan backline.
We were not good enough, says Coach Crispin Chhetri
India Coach Crispin Chhetri was clearly unhappy with his wards, expressing his displeasure after the game.
“We were not good enough. We didn’t deserve a win but I’ll take away a 1-0 victory,” Chhetri said at the post-match presentation.
“We did not have a right attitude and a right mindset going into today’s game.
“We have to play 90 minutes and win the game, we can’t be in the room and say ‘we are defeating this team 10-0’. No. We have to prove that on the field,” a calm Chhetri added.
When asked by Rediff about the areas India need to work on ahead of the final against the defending champions Bangladesh, Chhetri said: “Sometime football is not about tactic and technique. Sometimes football is all about heart. Bhutan showed a lot of heart I think they came up with warrior mentality. To be honest, I think Bhutan deserved to win the match.”
Bhutan, not ready to be taken lightly, remained dangerous on the counterattack and squandered a couple of promising chances.
‘I think we took the game very casually…’
IMAGE: India’s Manisha Kalyan vies with Bhutan’s Fathimath Afza during their SAFF Women’s Championship semi-final on Wednesday. Photograph: AIFF
The Blue Tigresses created a few chances through Karishma, Soumya Guguloth and Aveka Singh, but poor finishing and some alert goalkeeping kept the scores level at the break.
“We were lucky not to concede two goals in the first half.
“Sometimes you go with a different mindset in the game, thinking it’s a weaker, looking at the larger picture and when you play against teams like Bangladesh you don’t need motivation. But when you play against Bhutan, I think we took the game very casually. I think Bhutan were all heart tonight,” Chhetri added.
India made three changes bringing in Malavika P, Manisha Kalyan and Sangita Bastore in the 2nd half, changes that injected some purpose into their game.
India Face Bangladesh in Final
India finally found the breakthrough when midfielder Sanfida scored the all-important goal after sustained pressure, giving the home side the lead they had been searching for throughout the contest.
The opening goal settled some Indian nerves as the hosts finally looked to be in control.
Chhetri then brought on experienced attackers, including Pyari Xaxa as India looked to go for the kill.
Bhutan, meanwhile, caused little trouble upfront but fought till the end as the match ended 1-0.
“In women’s football whoever scores the first goal, then the game changes completely. The mentality, the approach, resilience all of it comes into play,” he said.
India will play their first final in the tournament after six years, when they beat Nepal to win the .2019 edition. In the last two editions — in 2022 and 2024 — the Indian women’s football team had been knocked out in the semi-finals.
