Road to Riyadh: How the teams made it to the Santosh Trophy semi-finals

Services, Meghalaya, Karnataka, and Punjab have made it to the final four of the tournament

The knockouts of the 2022-23 Santosh Trophy is set to be held in Saudi Arabia from the 1st to the 4th of March 2023. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) adopted a new format for the 76th edition of the tournament. It saw the removal of the qualification stage, thereby allowing all state teams to participate in the group stage.

The group stage was contested by 36 teams, wherein the teams were drawn into six groups. The six group winners, along with the three best runner-up teams qualified for the final round alongside Railways, Services, and the host of the round (Odisha).

Punjab

Punjab topped Group A with 11 points from five matches and are set to play Meghalaya in the semifinals. They have not lost a single game since the preliminary rounds and are the only side to remain undefeated. Rohit Sheikh and Kamalpreet Singh have played crucial roles, scoring five goals and three goals respectively.

In the penultimate match against Goa, Rohit came in as a substitute, when the scores were tied at 1-1. He scored two successive goals to seal the top spot. Punjab denied the reigning champions entry into the knockouts, levelling scores 1-1 in the last match of Group A. Once again it was Rohit who scored the equalizer. He is gradually turning out to be the go-to man for his side.

Karnataka

Karnataka finished the preliminary stage and group stage of the Santosh Trophy just behind Delhi and Punjab respectively. Going into the semifinals, Karnataka have lost only one match (to Delhi in the prelims). The southern unit is one of the top-scoring teams in the Santosh Trophy, having netted 28 times.

Abhishek Shankar Powar is one of their star players. The forward has scored six goals in ten matches and has formed a good partnership with Kamalesh and Robin Yadav. Abhishek scored the lone goal against reigning champions Kerala and won the game single-handedly.

Meghalaya

The North-Eastern side created history by making it to the knockouts of the Santosh Trophy for the first time. Meghalaya finished the preliminary round in the top spot, ahead of host Odisha with 11 points, and finished second in the group stages to qualify for the semifinals.

It all boiled down to the last match against West Bengal. They beat West Bengal 2-1 and finished in the second spot. Everbrightson is the top scorer, having scored six times in 10 matches. The striker also netted a hattrick against Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the preliminary stages.

Services

Services along with Railways started their Santosh Trophy campaign from the group stages. They were placed in Group A alongside top teams like Delhi and West Bengal. They started the tournament on a bright note, defeating Meghalaya 2-0. Services then won four out of the five matches to top their group.

The group toppers conceded just two goals in five matches, returning with a solid defensive record. The battle in the semifinal will be against Karnataka - a team known for its good scoring records. Karnataka has scored 28 goals in 10 matches thus far. In straight words, a mouth-watering clash.