2023 SAFF Women's International Friendly Tournament (Taif)

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2023 SAFF Women's International Friendly Tournament
Tournament details
Host countryFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Dates18–30 September
Teams6 (from 3 sub-confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon (1st title)
Runners-upFlag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan
Third placeFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia
Fourth placeFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Tournament statistics
Matches played11
Goals scored16 (1.45 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Lebanon.svg Lili Iskandar
(3 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Bhutan.svg Deki Lhazom
Best goalkeeper Flag of Malaysia.svg Nurul Azurin Mazlan

The 2023 SAFF Women's International Friendly Tournament was the 2nd edition of the SAFF Women's International Friendly Tournament organized by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF). Taif was selected as the host city by the SAFF Women's Football Committee in September 2023. On 21 August 2023, the SAFF confirmed that the tournament would take place between 18 and 30 September 2023. [1]

Contents

The competition saw an expansion of participating teams from four in the first edition to six in this edition. [2]

Saudi Arabia were the defending champions having won last edition in Khobar, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Bhutan after extra time. [3] Lebanon were crowned champions for the first time after defeating Bhutan 1–0, also after extra time. [4]

Participating teams

The second SAFF Women's International Friendly Tournament featured teams from six different nations, representing three Asian regional sub-confederations: WAFF (West Asia), SAFF (South Asia), and AFF (ASEAN). [5]

Qualified teams

The following six teams participated in the tournament:

TeamAppearanceLast
appearance		FIFA Ranking [a] Previous best
performance
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 2nd 2023 (Khobar) 172thChampions (2023 (Khobar))
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 1stN/A169thDebut
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 1stN/A87thDebut
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 1stN/A137thDebut
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 1stN/A89thDebut
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan [6] 2nd 2023 (Khobar) 157thRunners-up (2023 (Khobar))
  1. ↑ As published on 25 August 2023

Venue

All the matches of the tournament are being held exclusively at the King Fahd Stadium in Taif. [7]

Taif
King Fahd Sports City
Capacity: 20,000

Squads

Format

The tournament follows a group-stage format, where the six competing teams were drawn into two groups of three. The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the third-placed teams from both groups play in a match to determine the 5th place. The winners of the semi-finals secure a spot in the final, while the defeated teams face off for third place. [8]

Group Stage

All times are local, SAST (UTC+03:00).

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (H)211010+14 Knockout stage
2Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 20200002
3Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 201101−11
Source: SAFF
(H) Hosts
Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg0–0Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif
Malaysia  Flag of Malaysia.svg0–0Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif
Pakistan  Flag of Pakistan.svg0–1Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Report
  • Hawsawi Soccerball shade.svg90'
King Fahd Sports City, Taif

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 220073+46 Knockout stage
2Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 201123−11
3Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 201114−31
Source: SAFF
Laos  Flag of Laos.svg1–4Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif
Referee: Nodira Mirzoeva (Tajikistan)
Lebanon  Flag of Lebanon.svg3–2Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif
Referee: Shahenda El Maghrabi (Egypt)
Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg0–0Flag of Laos.svg  Laos
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif

Placement match

 
5th place
 
  
 
28 September – Taif
 
 
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 1 (4)
 
 
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 1 (2)
 

Fifth place match

Knockout stage

Bracket

 
 Semi-finals Final
 
      
 
27 September – Taif
 
 
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 0
 
30 September – Taif
 
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan (a.e.t.)1
 
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 0
 
27 September – Taif
 
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon (a.e.t.)1
 
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon (p)0 (4)
 
 
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 0 (3)
 
 Third Place match
 
 
30 September – Taif
 
 
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 0
 
 
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 1

Semi-finals

Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg0–1 (a.e.t.)Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif
Referee: Nodira Mirzoeva (Tajikistan)

Third-place match

Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg0–1Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif

Final

Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg0–1Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif
Referee: Nodira Mirzoeva (Tajikistan)

Goalscorers

There were 16 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 1.45 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "Pakistan to Participate in 6-Nation Women's Football Tournament in Saudi Arabia". propakistani.pk. 21 August 2023.
    2. ↑ "السعودية تنظم بطولة ودية للسيدات بمشاركة 6 منتخبات عربية وآسيوية وأوروبية". كورة بلس. September 4, 2023.
    3. ↑ "«البطولة الدولية للسيدات»: بوتان ولبنان إلى النهائي… والبرونزية بين السعودية وماليزيا" [The Women's International Championship: Bhutan and Lebanon in the final... with the bronze match between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia]. awsat.com (in Arabic). 27 September 2023.
    4. ↑ "LEBANESE WOMEN NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS OF FRIENDLY FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN TAIF". nna-leb.gov.lb. 1 October 2023.
    5. ↑ "سيدات لبنان يبحثن عن لقب جديد في السعودية". كووورة. September 14, 2023.
    6. ↑ "PFF names squad for women's international tournament in Saudi Arabia". The Nation. September 16, 2023.
    7. ↑ "Squad for Women's Six-Nation Football Tournament in Saudi Arabia".
    8. ↑ "Pakistan Women's Schedule for 6-Nation Tournament in Saudi Arabia Unveiled".
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