Bangladesh face Nepal tomorrow to defend SAFF title
Defending champions Bangladesh take on host Nepal in final match of seven-nation SAFF Women's Championship scheduled to be held tomorrow (Wednesday) at Dasharath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. The match kicks off at 6:45 pm Bangladesh time.
It'll be the second occasion Bangladesh going to meet Nepal in the SAFF final after Sabina and Co. made the history in 2022 SAFF tournament by beating the hosts by 3-1 in the final to clinch their maiden SAFF title. Bangladesh has fair chance to retain the SAFF title following their excellent consistency all through the tournament.
The Sabina and Co. confirmed their spot of final thrashing Bhutan by 7-1 goals in the first semifinal match, rode on magnificent hat-trick by forward Tohura Khatun. Bangladesh has also shown good brand of football in their group face matches. They played out to a 1-1 goal draw with Pakistan in their opening group match and beat five times SAFF champions India by 3-1 goals in their ultimate group match to emerge group champions.
Bangladesh team head coach Peter Butler must be expecting the same performance from his girls in the final match against Nepal. On the other hand, the five times SAFF runners-up Nepal secured a spot in the final after a tense second semifinal match against India. The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw during stipulated time, was decided by a penalty shootout where the hosts eventually won the match by 4-2 goals.
Earlier, Nepal played out to a goalless draw with Bhutan in their group opening match but they bounced back to register an overwhelming 11-0 drubbing over the Maldives. The Himalayan side emerged as the group champions thrashing Sri Lanka by 6-0 goals in the ultimate group match.
Bangladesh squad: Rupna Chakma, Mst Yeazman Begum, Mile Akter, Masura Parvin, Afeida Khandakar, Sheuli Azim, Shamsunnahar (Sr.) Nilifa Yasmin Nila, Kohati Kisku, Monika Chakma, Maria Manda, Sapna Rani, Munki Akter, Airin Akter, Sumaya Matsushima, Sanjida Akter, Ritu Porno Chakma, Shaheda Akter Ripa, Sabina Khatun, Tohura Khatun, Shamsunnahar (Jr.), Krishna Rani Sarkar and Mst Sagorika.
