The 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy saw a dramatic semi-final where a tale of two halves unfolded before West Bengal clinched a place in the final by overcoming defending champions Services 4-2 at the Gachibowli Stadiumfc188, on Sunday, December 29, 2024. (More Football News)

The win marked West Bengal’s 47th appearance in the tournament's final, which they have won a record 32 times.

The match saw West Bengal asserting their dominance early on. Players Manotos Maji and Naro Hari Shrestha each scored a goal, while Robi Hansda, the tournament’s leading scorer with a total of 11 goals, added a brace to his tally to bag the Player of the Match award.

As for Services, they were on the back foot for much of the first half. They managed to score through Bikash Thapa and an own goal by West Bengal, which added some suspense to the proceedings in the second half.

However, Bengal held on in the end, and will seek their eight title in the final.

In the match against the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Belgium, India's Abhishek scored the consolation goal in the 55th minute. Felix Denayer (22’), Alexander Hendrickx (34’, 60’) and Cedric Charlier (49’) scored for the hosts.

After a barren first quarterfc188, Belgium took the lead in the 22nd minute through a field goal by skipper Felix Denayer.