Santosh Trophy Semifinals: Karnataka set up clash with Kerala, Manipur to meet West Bengal

Karnataka broke through jail with a 4-0 win over Gujarat in the last group match of the 2022 Santosh Trophy on Monday to sneak into the semifinals. They will face hosts Kerala in the first semifinal on Thursday, while Manipur will face West Bengal in the second semifinal on Friday.

Kerala (10 points from 4 matches) have topped Group A and will play the first semifinal against the second best team from Group B - Karnataka (7 points from 4 matches) - on April 28. West Bengal (9 points from 4 matches) will play the second semifinal on April 29 against Manipur (9 points from 4 matches), Group B toppers.

Odisha (7 points from 4 matches) lost their final group match vs Services on Monday afternoon to give Karnataka a chance to get through to the semis if they won by a margin of three goals or more against Gujarat. Karnataka won by four goals to break Odisha hearts and sneak through on goal difference.

Group A Points Table

West Bengal have qualified as the 2nd placed team from Group A after their win against Rajasthan on Sunday.

Having lost to Manipur on Saturday, Karnataka's chances of making the semis had taken a huge hit. But Odisha gave them a window of opportunity by losing their last match against Services by 0-2. Karnataka jumped on the chance and beat Gujarat in their last group match by 4-0 to sneak into the semis.

Semifinal 1 - Kerala vs Karnataka 28 April 8 pm

Semifinal 2 - West Bengal vs Manipur 29 April 8 pm

Final - SF1 vs SF2 02 May 8 pm