Upbeat Bangladesh take on motivated Nepal in the final of the sixth edition of SAFF Women's Championship scheduled to be held on Monday at Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, reports BSS. The match kicks off at 5.15pm (BST).
The tournament's sixth edition will see a new champion in the history of SAFF as both the teams have expressed their high optimism to win the title and look confident for their respective title charges.
Nepal beat India 1-0 in the semi-final while Bangladesh blanked India 3-0 in the group stage. So, it can be said that the best two teams of this tournament reached the final stage. Both teams are on the verge of creating history.
Both, Bangladesh and Nepal, who will face each other in the final, have not conceded any goal so far. Bangladesh scored 20 goals from four matches while Nepal scored 11 goals from three encounters. Whichever team of Bangladesh and Nepal becomes the champions, they will have to break the strong defensive wall of their opponents.
The way the two teams have reached the finals, it'll not be wise to tag any team as favourite in the final because those who will play well in the final will win the title. Nepal however takes to the field with an upper hand because they will get the home ground advantage and one of the strengths will be their supporters. It can be assumed that the host crowds will fill the gallery to support their team.
The record of past meetings between the two teams will go in favour of Nepal. Bangladesh and Nepal have met three times in the previous five SAFF championships. Nepalese have won all three occasions. Bangladesh and Nepal first met in the first SAFF Championship in Cox's Bazar back in 2010 with Nepal winning the match 3-0 against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh lost 1-0 to Nepal in the 2014 semi-final of the championship and in the third meeting in 2019 in the group stage. Nepal won the match 3-0 against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh earlier blanked the Maldives by 3-0 in their group opening match, thrashed Pakistan 6-0 in their second match and defeated defending champions India by 3-0 goals to book their spot of semi-final as the group A champions.
The girls in red and green confirmed their spot of semi-final after crushing Bhutan by 8-0 goals in the first semi-final.
While Nepal blanked Bhutan 4-0 in their first group match and thrashed Sri Lanka 6-0 to secure semi-final as group B champions.
After that, Nepal edged past holders India by 1-0 goal in the second semi-final to confirm their spot of final in the tournament.
Bangladesh women's team: Rupna Chakma, Etie Rani, Sathi Biswas, Masura Parvin, Mossammat Akhi Khatun, Shamsunnahar, Sheuli Azim, Nilufa Yesmin Nila, Anai Mogini, Maria Manda (vice-captain), Monika Chakma, Shamsunnahar, Sohagi Kisku, Sapna Rani, Ritu Porna Chakma, Sanjida Akhter, Marzia, Sabina Khatun (captain), Srimoti Krishnarani Sarkar, Mosammat Sirat Jahan Shopna, Tohura Khatun, Anuching Mogini and Sajeda Khatun.