Balal Arezo scripted a fairy-tale finish as Afghanistan qualified for the SAFF Championship final for the first time in the history of the south Asian tournament. A classic 100th minute strike by the 22-year-old attacking mid-fielder sank Nepal in an exciting semifinal played under lights at Delhi’s Nehru Stadium on Friday. Afghanistan play India in the final on Sunday.

The victory saw the emotional side of a nation that is ravaged by war and the recent killings by a suicide bomber in a Kabul shrine doing no better. The win sent the team delirious with joy as players sank to their knees and kissed the pitch as hundreds of Afghan fans went wild in the stands.

Arezo made amends for his lapses earlier in the game that had everything but a goal. The teams were locked 0-0 after regulation time and the decisive goal was a piece of work that will make any international striker proud.

Arezo, who plays professional soccer for Norwegian team Asker, sprinted 60 yards and left in his wake a bunch of defenders in a telling run from the Nepal mid-field. He found the target with a rasping left-footer at the far post. It was truly a classic finish.

The match ended with a flurry of cards with Nepali defender Braj Maharjan seeing red for a cynical challenge at a time when every second was crucial. Nepal ran out of ideas towards the closing stages, their lack of experience surfacing against an Afghan team that held its nerves when it mattered most.

However, it was Nepal that went in with a definite game plan. Their British coach Graham Roberts had obviously noticed the difference in the physique of his players and the tall and sturdy Afghans. Nepal thus tried to unsettle the Afghans with long-range volleys mixed with quick passes in the attacking third.

The Nepalese strategy worked quite well as Afghanistan had their backs to the wall for at least the first 20 minutes of the game. Nepal’s attacking ploy was backed by some vociferous support from the stands and for the first time in this tournament, the adrenaline among the fans from both nations was running high. The atmosphere was truly what a pacy game of soccer produces, effervescent.

Nepal’s aggressive designs were led by Jumanu Rai, whose right footer fully stretched the Afghan goalie Hameedullah in the seventh minute. The Afghan goal had a close call in the 17th minute when Rohit Chand and Santhosh Khala combined to almost score from a goalmouth skirmish.

Fancied Afghanistan, who scored a dozen goals in three group games, found their feet late in the first half, but squandered two golden chances, once being denied by the crosspiece. Arezo missed a sitter in the 35th minute and then his header in the 44th minute, came off the bar.

After the break, Afghanistan had more territorial advantage but the Nepal goal never came under any real threat. Only in the 77th minute, Sandjar Ahmadi came close to scoring but the Nepal goalie Kiran Kumar Limbu was in the right position. Nepal attacked on the break but their imagination ran out in the scoring zone. The tall Afghan defenders easily blunted any Nepali offensive.

With full time nearing, Nepal added three fresh legs, but the goals never came.

Teams

AFGHANISTAN: Hameedullah Yousufzari, Ata Mohammad Yamrali (Ahmed Arash Hatifle, 81st), Balal Arezo, Djelaludin Shahriyar, Faisal Safa, Haroon Fakhruddin, Masaiullah M Ibrahim (Waheed Ahmad, 46th), Mohammad Esrafil, M Yousef Mashriqi, Moqadar Faizullah, Sanjdar Ahmadi (Hashmat Jan, 117th).

NEPAL: Kiran Kumar Limbu, Biraj Maharjan, Bikash Singh Chetri, Santhosh Shahu Khala (Anil Gurung 70th), Jumanu Rai, Sandip Rai, Raju Tamang, Bhola Nath Silwal (Bijay Gurung, 81st), Sagar Thapa, Bharat Khawas (Nirajan Khadka, 89th), Rohit Chand.

REFEREE: Masoud Tufaylieh (Syria)