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]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Saudi Arabia |
| Dates | 18–30 September |
| Teams | 6 (from 3 sub-confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Lebanon (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Bhutan |
| Third place |  Malaysia |
| Fourth place | Saudi Arabia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 16 (1.45 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Lili Iskandar (3 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Deki Lhazom |
| Best goalkeeper | Nurul Azurin binti |
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 edit
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 edit
The following six teams participated in the tournament:
| Team | Appearance | Last appearance |
FIFA Ranking[a] | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia |
2nd | 2023 (Khobar) | 172th | Champions (2023 (Khobar)) |
| Bhutan |
1st | N/A | 169th | Debut |
 Laos |
1st | N/A | 87th | Debut |
| Lebanon |
1st | N/A | 137th | Debut |
| Malaysia |
1st | N/A | 89th | Debut |
 Pakistan[6] |
2nd | 2023 (Khobar) | 157th | Runners-up (2023 (Khobar)) |
- ^ As published on 25 August 2023
Venue edit
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 edit
Format edit
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 edit
All times are local, SAST (UTC+03:00).
Group A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia (H)
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Malaysia
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | Pakistan
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 1 |
(H) Hosts
Group B edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lebanon
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Bhutan
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Laos
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
| Laos | 1–4 | Lebanon |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Placement match edit
| 5th place | ||
| 28 September – Taif | ||
| Pakistan | 1 (4) | |
| Laos | 1 (2) | |
Fifth place match edit
| Pakistan | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Laos |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 4–2 | ||
Knockout stage edit
- In the knockout stage, extra-time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket edit
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 27 September – Taif | ||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | |||||
| 30 September – Taif | ||||||
| Bhutan (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| Bhutan | 0 | |||||
| 27 September – Taif | ||||||
| Lebanon (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| Lebanon (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
| Malaysia | 0 (3) | |||||
| Third Place match | ||||||
| 30 September – Taif | ||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | |||||
| Malaysia | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals edit
| Saudi Arabia | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Third-place match edit
Final edit
| Bhutan | 0–1 | Lebanon |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Goalscorers edit
There were 16 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 1.45 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ "Pakistan to Participate in 6-Nation Women's Football Tournament in Saudi Arabia". propakistani.pk. 21 August 2023.
- ^ "السعودية تنظم بطولة ودية للسيدات بمشاركة 6 منتخبات عربية وآسيوية وأوروبية". كورة بلس. September 4, 2023.
- ^ "«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.
- ^ "LEBANESE WOMEN NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS OF FRIENDLY FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN TAIF". nna-leb.gov.lb. 1 October 2023.
- ^ "سيدات لبنان يبحثن عن لقب جديد في السعودية". كووورة. September 14, 2023.
- ^ "PFF names squad for women's international tournament in Saudi Arabia". The Nation. September 16, 2023.
- ^ "Squad for Women's Six-Nation Football Tournament in Saudi Arabia".
- ^ "Pakistan Women's Schedule for 6-Nation Tournament in Saudi Arabia Unveiled".