India U-20 vs Bhutan U-20 Player Ratings: Rohen Singh, Arbash shine while Chogyel disappoints in SAFF U20 championship

India will face Bangladesh in the finals of the 2026 SAFF U-20 Championship.

The Indian U-20 team’s fantastic start to the 2026 SAFF U-20 Championship continued with another triumph, as they defeated Bhutan U-20 5-0 in the tournament’s semi-finals. With this victory, they have advanced to the competition’s final, where they will face Bangladesh in the penultimate match.

Mahesh Gawli made two changes to the team that tied 1-1 in the last group stage game, replacing Mohammad Kaif and Rishi Singh with Bungson Singh and Rohen Singh.

The Blue Colts dominated the game from the very beginning, with Omang Dodum giving India the lead in the fifth minute. Arbash’s goal right before halftime gave Mahesh Gawli’s team a two-goal advantage going into the break.

India U-20 men’s team extended its dominance in the second half, with Rohen Singh scoring two goals in two minutes to secure the match for the Blue Colts. Bhutan surged forward and had opportunities, but the quality was insufficient, and India was content to maintain the scoreline intact. Malemngamba came off the bench to score the fifth goal, securing the Indian U-20 team’s five-star triumph.

While several players shined in the 5-0 triumph, let’s take a look at how the players from both teams performed overall over the course of 90 minutes.

India U-20 Player Ratings (by Shyam Sundar)

Suraj Singh (GK) – 7/10

Suraj’s game in goal wasn’t very hectic, however he was called upon a few times. Except for one long-range attempt from the center of the field, where Suraj did just enough to get a fingertip and keep the ball out of the net, most of his saves were routine and standard.

Roshan Singh – 7/10

Another solid performance at the back for the Mohun Bagan defender, who was always looking to run forward with the ball at his feet. He was called into defensive action a couple of occasions with excellent runs down Bhutan’s right wing, but Roshan was effective with tackles and interceptions to keep dangerous crosses out of the box.

Jodric Abranches – 7/10

While Jodric had a quiet first half in which he was not called upon to action defensively, the Dempo SC defender was tested in the final 30 minutes of the game as the Indian players appeared exhausted and Bhutan committed more men forward. Jodric played an important role in preserving the clean sheet, making two critical last-minute interventions to keep the scoreline intact.

Bungson Singh – 7/10

Bungson, who returned to the team after a minor niggle in the game against Pakistan, performed a good job at the back with little defensive work to do. He was efficient at recycling possession at the back and delivering a few threatening long balls to his wingers for attack.

Yaipharemba Chingakam – 7/10

Yaipharemba was brilliant with his overlapping forward runs, combining effectively with Rohen Singh in a game when he was not pushed much defensively, something he missed in the previous game while playing with Rishi Singh. Defensively, he remained steadfast and did not give his opponent a single chance.

Samson Ahongshangbam – 7/10

Not the best of the days for Vishal Yadav with the opposition defenders doubling on him, but Vishal was brilliant with his runs to take the defenders away, creating space for Oman Dodum on the wings. Vishal did make a couple of dangerous runs forward and played a few threatening crosses, but couldn’t get an assist or goal to his name. 

Rishikanta Meitei – 7/10

Rishikanta delivered another outstanding job, with the Indian midfielder having much more freedom to attack compared to last game. He made some excellent late runs into the box and came close to scoring several times. Overall, he and Arbash performed admirably in the midfield, linking up play and constructing attacks through the center of the pitch.

Md Arbash – 8/10

Despite the bad performance in the previous game, Mahesh Gawlu maintained trust in the Bengaluru FC midfielder, and he responded with a goal and two assists to double, treble, and quadruple the Blue Colts’ advantage. Arbash was enjoying plenty of room in the middle, firing dangerous through balls and drawing a couple of fouls in dangerous areas.

Vishal Yadav – 7/10

Vishal Yadav did not have the greatest of days, with opposing defenders doubling on him, but he was fantastic with his runs, taking the defenders away and providing space for Oman Dodum on the wings. Vishal made a few promising runs forward and played a few dangerous crosses, but he was unable to record an assist or a goal.

Rohen Singh – 9/10

Coming in place of Rishi Singh, Rohen had an instant impact with his dangerous cross giving the Blue Colts an early lead when Omang Dodum converted Rohen’s cross. He was very efficient with his runs throughout the game, playing dangerous crosses to his attackers and connecting with the fullbacks.

He scored twice in two minutes right before the hour mark, converting Arbaz’s excellent passes in both occasions to get a brace to his name. He was also named SAFF’s MOTM for the game.

Omang Dodum – 8/10

Omang Dodum delivered an outstanding performance. The Punjab FC attacker played more freely, sliding onto the wings, challenging defenders and offering a threat from set pieces. He scored the first goal with a beautiful poacher finish and then provided the assist for the second with a superb move to take on his defender and set it up for Arbash.

Substitutes:

Karish Soram – 6/10

Karish, who replaced Roshan Singh at left-back, played well defensively but was unable to match his effect moving forward. Overall, he had a solid game to keep the clean sheet intact.

Thoungamba Singh – 6/10

Thoungamba replaced Yaipharemba at right-back and played brilliantly. He was engaged in a number of hard tackles and made a few brave runs forward playing dangerous crosses into the final third.

Tanbir Dey – 6/10

The Northeast United FC striker came on at the hour mark to prove himself and score a few goals. Despite having several opportunities, Tanbir lacked sharpness in the final third, squandering them with bad finishing or inaccurate first touches.

Gurnaj Singh – 7/10

Coming in for the last quarter of the game, the Mohun Bagan midfielder restored calm and control to the Indian midfield while creating chances from offensive set-pieces. Gurnaj assisted on the night’s fifth goal with a superb line-breaking through pass.

Malemngamba Singh – 8/10

The Kerala Blasters defender came on to play on the left wing and was a continuous threat to the rival defense in the few minutes he spent on the field. He hit the post once before scoring in stoppage time with a fantastic left-footed finish into the bottom corner.

He received a booking for preventing Bhutan from taking a quick free kick.

Bhutan U-20 Player Ratings (by Saikat Sengupta)

Tandin Penjor – 6/10

The Bhutanese custodian did an exemplary work to keep the scoreline respectable. He was one of the top performers for Bhutan tonight and made some crucial saves to deny some sure-shot goal-scoring opportunities for India. The scoreline doesn’t reflect Penjor’s saves and denials.

Rinjin Dorji – 5.5/10

The captain had a decent outing tonight. Though there were high expectations from him to perform well, India totally outplayed Bhutan in the semi finals.

Chogyel Sherab – 4.5/10

Chogyel should have marked Rohen and Arbash properly and his failure to mark the players led to Bhutan conceding the second goal in the 44th minute.

 Ugyen Dorji – 5.5/10

It was never easy to control the Indian wingers from the left flank but Dorji had a decent performance to keep the wingers from the left flank quiet.

Ngawang Yonten – 5/10

The defender tonight had a decent performance but a series of constant attacks from India spoiled Bhutan’’s momentum and their defensive vulnerabilities were exposed badly.

Kuenzang Wangchuk – 5/10

Wangchuk horribly failed to intercept Arbash and that led to India scoring the third goal. He had a pretty awful day at work tonight, and such an unstable defence badly affected Bhutan.

Sonam Dorji – 5/10

Sonam had a decent game tonight but failed to dominate the midfield battles as India slowly made their grip firm in the match and India won the game 5-0

Tandin Tshewang – 5.5/10

He did create some good opportunities, but the Bhutan players failed to make the most of it from those balls.

Dhendup Gyeltshen – 6/10

Near to the hour mark, Dhendup had a great chance of converting that into a goal, but fortune didn’t favour him enough as India kept their clean sheet intact.

Kelden Dorjee – 6/10

He had some really great opportunities to score in the first half, but terribly failed to convert those chances into goals, which if done early on would have seen a different outcome.

Thinley Yezer – 5.5/10

Kelden did create some good chances but again that ability to clinically finish the game costed Bhutan badly as they kept conceding goals in the second half.

Substitutes

Tandin Phuntsho – 6.5/10

His arrival did inject some fresh energy into the team. From taking corners to creating chances, he made a good impact in the pitch tonight as a sub.

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