National Championship, Day 8: The stage for the National Finals is set.

Welcome to the recap for days nine of the National Finals, held in Mumbai. Check out the recaps for all the exciting matches that happened below to stay up to date with how your favorite players and teams are doing so far in the tournament! These matches are semi finals matches and stakes have never been higher. The best of the best feature in these games and their gameplay will have you on the edge of your seats in excitement.

The first match of the day was between Government Model High School 36, Chandigarh and Progress High School School, Goa in the Sub-Junior Boys. Government Model High School struck early with Thokchom Surjakanta Singh scoring in the 3rd minute. They were leading 1-0 at the end of the half. Progress High School scored the equalizer with a strike from Saumya Sazro Gosavi in the 43rd minute. Both teams were trying to score the winning goal but were unable to do so and the match went into a penalty shootout. Progress High School won the penalty shootout and secured a spot in the National Finals. They will meet The Unique Model Academy, Imphal in the National Finals.

You can check out the match stats here.

The second match of the day, in the School Girls category, was between Titaguri High School, Guwahati and Nilamani English School, Imphal. Both teams started the game trying to score and build up their lead but the defenses held strong and did not allow any goals to be scored. The first half ended a scoreless tie. The teams changed up their strategies and were looking for goals with renewed vigor. Jeena Chanu Mayanglangbam scored for Nilamani English School due to a fumble near the nets in the 56th minute. Titaguri High School was looking for the equalizer as the final whistle near, getting increasingly desperate while doing so. They could not find it as The Unique Model Academy defense stood tall and ensured not only a win in this match but also a spot in the National Finals for their team. 

You can check out the match stats here.

The third game of the day, in the School Girls category, had Government Girls HSS, Madurai facing off against St. Joseph's International School, Hisar. The first half saw no goals scored as both the defenses clamped down and completely shut down the opposing offenses. The teams changed up their strategies in the second half and it paid off for St. Joseph's International School, as Varsha collected a corner kick and tapped the ball into the nets for a score in the 42nd minute. The Government Girls HSS offense was getting more and more desperate in their search of a goal. Their desperation was their undoing as they could no let find the easy gaps in the St. Joseph's International School defense. St. Joseph's secured a spot in the National Finals with this 1-0 win. 

You can check out the match centre here. 

The fourth match of the day had Shillong College, Shillong taking on Farook College, Kozhikode in the College Boys category. Shillong College started the game with an attacking strategy, looking for a goal immediately after the first whistle. They got one in the 26th minute when their captain passed the ball to Robert Khongjoh, who tapped the ball into the nets from the right side. Farook College tried to score the equalizer but Shillong College was still in the lead 1-0 at the end of the first half. They finally managed to equalize the score with a penalty kick score in the 57th minute from Fahis P U. But Shillong College's Phrangki Buam scored the winning goal for them just a few minutes before the end of the game. Shillong College secured a spot in the National Finals with this 2-1 win. 

You can check out the match timeline here.

The final match of the day was between Indore Christian College, Indore and Dr. Bhupendranath Dutta Smriti Mahavidyalaya, Kolkata in the College Boys category. The Dr. Bhupendranath Mahavidyalaya players started the match with an attacking strategy and it paid off for them. Tushar Hemram scored for them in the 3rd minute making an amazing narrow angle shot with his left foot. Indore Christian College scored the equalizer with a strike from Swapnil Chintaman in the 18th minute. Dr. Bhupendranath Mahavidyalaya took the lead back in the 35th minute with a strike from SK Firoj Ali. At the end of the first half they were still leading 2-1. They padded their lead with a strike from Tanmay Das in the 66th minute. Indore Christian College was looking for a way to come back in this game and they found it when Deep Khare scored a shot from the deep. But as time winded down they were unable to find the equalizer and Dr. Bhupendranath Mahavidyalaya won the match 3-2 securing their spot into the National Finals. 

You can check out the match stats here.