Bangladesh overcame a nervy first half to earn a gritty 2–1 victory over Nepal in a semifinal fixture of SAFF U-19 Championship in India’s Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.
Captain Nazmul Huda Faisal led from the front after assisting the first goal for Ashikur Rahman before tapping in the second within a span of seven minutes in the second half to ensure Bangladesh’s final berth, though Nepal tried to bite back with a late goal from Sujan Dangol.
Golam Rabbani Choton’s charges will take on favourites India in the final on Sunday. The hosts stormed into the final with a 3-0 win over Maldives in the second semifinal.
At Golden Jubilee Stadium, both teams fought equally, as expected. Bangladesh enjoyed a lion’s share of possession and created more chances, but it was Nepal who came close to breaking the deadlock after 15 minutes. However, goalkeeper Ismail Hossain Mahin denied the Nepalese forwards, while Nepal were also thwarted by the woodwork on the half-hour mark.
Bangladesh squandered two chances afterwards before Nepal defender Madan Paudel made a goalline save, thwarting a goal-bound header 10 minutes into the second half.
After surviving a fumble from goalkeeper Mahin, Bangladesh broke the deadlock in the 74th minute, with Ashikur nodding in a well-judged corner from Nazmul, who then doubled the lead with a tap-in after substitute Mohammad Manik brilliantly snatched the ball from a Nepalese defender and squared it for Nazmul inside the box in the 81th minute.
Nepal bit back to pull one back in the 87th minute, with Sujan side-volleying a low cut-back into the net, giving goalkeeper Mahin no chance to react.
Nepal then tried to level the margin, but the charges of Golam Rabbani Choton held firm and left the ground without further damage, confirming a back-to-back final in the youth tournament of the regional championship.
After confirming the final berth, head coach Choton said they had the advantage of a three-day rest before the semi-final match against Nepal.
“It had really been tough for us to play two group-stage matches against Maldives and Bhutan on May 9 and 11, but it was an advantage for us to work for three days with the boys before the semi-final,” Choton said.
“Besides, we also made our game plan after watching the match between Nepal and India, and the boys executed the plan perfectly and left the ground with a victory.”