DeskReport
The match was packed with attack after attack from the start. Neither Bangladesh nor Nepal left anyone behind. However, Bangladesh had the last laugh. Golam Rabbani Chhota’s team defeated Nepal 2-1 today and reached the final of the SAFF Under-19 Championship. Ashikur Rahman and captain Nazmul Huda Faisal scored both goals.
Bangladesh entered the semi-finals as group champions. Nepal, despite being the runners-up in the other group, started to put pressure on Bangladesh. Bangladesh goalkeeper Ismail Hossain Mahin jumped and blocked Sujan Dangol’s shot in the 17th minute of the match at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Arunachal Pradesh.
Bangladesh counterattacked in the 22nd minute. Rifat Kazi entered the box after receiving a great pass from Nazmul. But his left-footed shot was saved by Nepal goalkeeper Bhakt Bahadur Pariyar in exchange for a corner.
In the 30th minute, the Nepalese footballer’s shot from outside the box hit the post and went wide. In the 37th minute, Bahadur blocked Nazmul’s right-footed shot. After the break, in the 58th minute, Nepal turned back Mithur Chowdhury’s header from Nazmul’s corner before it could go into the net. However, they could not stop Ashikur Rahman in the 73rd minute. Ashikur shook the net with a great header from Nazmul’s corner.
Nepal was a bit disappointed after falling behind. Bangladesh also made no mistake in taking advantage of this. That’s why the second goal came just 8 minutes later. Mohammad Manik fooled the two footballers and passed the ball to Nazmul in the empty space inside the box. Bahadur tried to block him, but the Bangladesh captain doubled the gap with a right-footed shot.
Nepal signaled a comeback in the match with Sujan’s goal in the 87th minute. But they could not turn around later. In the other semi-final, hosts India and Maldives will face each other an hour later.
