Afghanistan dedicated their thumping 8-1 win against Bhutan in the SAFF Championship to all the victims of the Kabul bomb-blast that rocked the world on Tuesday. One of the Afghan players Mustafa Madar lost three of his kin in a dreadful bomb attack on a Shiite shrine.

At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, Afghanistan were the first from Group A to qualify for the semifinals.

After the match Afghanistan’s coach Mohammad Yousef Kargar said he was pleased with the result but it was difficult for them to play the match. “We played in pain for the whole match. This is a very difficult time for us,” he said.

He added saying his team made him proud, “We dedicate this win to all those who lost their lives and got injured in the attacks. My players made my wish come true as we have qualified for the semifinals.”

Although they had any easy outing against the inexperienced Bhutan team, according to Afghanistan coach, they are not going to take things lightly. “We took it a little easy against Bhutan but we will take our match in the semifinals seriously,” he said.

On being asked on which team would he prefer in the semifinals, either Maldives or Nepal, he said they wouldn’t mind facing either.

With their 8-1 triumph, Afghanistan came close to equalling the best result of in the competition’s history. In the 2005 edition, Maldives beat Afghanistan themselves 9-1. Their captain Balal Arezo scored four in the match and has now become the leading scorer with five in total.

They have also scored the most goals in the current edition with 12 goals. They started as the surprise element of the competition but one would now consider them as one of the favourites to win the tournament come December 11.