Sports Desk;

Hosts Bangladesh will be looking to win the title of the SAFF Under-20 Women’s Championship when they take on Nepal in the final of the four-nation tournament at the Birshrestha Shaheed Sepahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur today.

The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time.

This will be the second time Bangladesh will be facing Nepal in the tournament, as they earlier beat the Himalayan side 3-1 in the league phase before a goalless draw against India and a crushing 5-0 win over Bhutan to top the league table.

On the other hand, Nepal booked their place in the final as the second-place finishers after they beat India 3-1 and Bhutan 4-0 in their other two games.

‘We will take the ground to win the game,’ Bangladesh coach Golam Rbbani Choton told the media in the pre-final press conference at the Bangladesh Football Federation House on Wednesday.

The coach is expecting an intense and exciting game as he wants to execute his plan of a high-pressing game against Nepal.

‘We will play an attacking game. They [Nepal] are a strong team. And I am expecting a highly competitive final. Nepal will be more confident of winning the final after defeating a strong India team in the league phase. We will play according to our game plan,’ said Choton.

Bangladesh captain Shamsunnahar Jr, who scored three goals against Bhutan on Tuesday, said that she and her team-mates will give their best to keep the trophy at home.

‘We will take the ground to win the trophy. We will try to keep the trophy at home. I will do my best to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way. And I hope, all the other team members will also do the same to win the game,’ she said.

Nepal coach Yam Prasad Gorung said that his side will play a pressure-free game and will look to exploit Bangladesh’s weakness.

‘Hope, we will be able to take revenge tomorrow [Thursday]… Bangladesh are a good team, and the winning chances will be fifty-fifty. We will play a pressure-free game and our strategy will be different to win the game. We know about the weakness of the Bangladesh team,’ said Gorung.

Nepal captain Preeti Rai said, ’We worked hard to reach the final. I think, we are capable of winning the title.’