
History-making Meghalaya will lock horns with four-time champions Karnataka in the 2022-23 Santosh Trophy final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Meghalaya, who reached the Santosh Trophy semifinal for the firs time in their history, continued their fairy-tale run in the National Football Championship (NFC) on Wednesday (March 1) as they came from a goal down to stun Punjab 2-1 in the first semifinal.
After Punjab had gone ahead via Deepak Kumar (16') goal, Meghalaya hit back through Figo Syndal (37') and a late goal from Sheen Stevenson Sohktung (90+1') to enter their maiden final.
In the second semifinal, Karnataka also came from a goal down to beat favourties Services 3-1 thanks to goals from Robin Yadav (42'), Ankit P (45+1') and Sunil Kumar (77'). Bikash Jadhav (40') was the lone goal-scorer for Services.
Earlier, Meghalaya finished second behind Services in Group B that also included last year's runners up and the most successful side in the competition West Bengal as well as former champions, Railways, Manipur and Delhi.
Meghalaya registered wins over West Bengal, Manipur and Delhi, while they drew with Railways and lost their match against Services in the final round group stage.
Karnataka, on the other hand, finished second behind Punjab in Group A that included last season winners Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa and the final round hosts Odisha.
Karnataka were unbeaten in the final round group stage after wins over Kerala and Goa, while they drew with Odisha, Maharashtra and Punjab.
While Karnataka and Meghalaya clash in the final, the losing semifinalists Services and Punjab will lock horns in the third-place playoff match, which is also scheduled to take place on the same day as the final and at the same venue in Riyadh.
Here is all you need to know about the National Football Championship (NFC) for Santosh Trophy 202-23 season final:
The Meghalaya vs Karnataka Final will take place on Saturday (March 4) after the third-placed playoff between Punjab and
The Meghalaya vs Karnataka match will kick off after the third-place playoff match at 6:30 PM Local Time (9 PM IST) on Saturday (March 4).
The third-place playoff between Punjab and Services will kick off at 3:30 PM Local Time (6 PM IST) on Saturday (March 4).
The Santosh Trophy 2023 matches will be shown live on DD Sports and streamed live on Fancode app for free in India.