Bangladesh women face off India women in final today
Bangladesh Women’s Football team will face off India Women’s Football team in the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Championship today at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa of India.
The match will kick-off at 7:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time). Private satellite sports channel T Sports will telecast the match live.
There is a lot of excitement for the fans of India surrounding this match.
On the one hand, Bangladesh footballers are dreaming of winning the third consecutive title, India will be on the field with the aim of regaining the trophy after a long time.
Both teams have come a long way before the final. In the group stage, India stopped Bangladesh’s unbeaten streak 3-0.
However, after that loss, Bangladesh turned around and made it to the final by defeating Nepal 2-1 in the first semi-final.
On the other hand, India beat Bhutan 1-0 in the second semi-final to reach the title-deciding match.
Head Coach of Bangladesh Women’s Football team Peter Butler has been saying from the beginning that his team will look different against India.
After the win against Maldives in the group stage, he said, “We played bad football. But we will be a different team against India.”
The England-born coach also commented that India’s attacking style of play could be advantageous for Bangladesh.
He believes that his team will be able to create opportunities for counterattacks if the opponent comes forward.
However, after losing to India by a large margin in the group stage, Butler questioned the performance and professionalism of some of his team’s players.
He admitted that India were the better team that day and Bangladesh could not play at their normal pace. Bangladesh Captain Maria Manda is optimistic about the final.
The experienced forward believes that the group stage result will not have any impact on the final.
The team is getting a new opportunity to prove themselves in the title-deciding match.
Bangladesh’s rise in South Asian women’s football in the past few years and success in big matches has further boosted the team’s confidence.
On the other hand, there is a tone of caution in the Indian camp along with confidence.
Head Coach Crispin Chettri said before the final that Bangladesh will enter the field with a full-strength team and there is no chance of taking them lightly.
According to him, both teams have equal chances in the final. He also commented that India are not getting any extra advantage even though they are playing in Goa.
Referring to the lack of crowd support in the stadium, Chetri said, “There is no home advantage here. I am not even thinking about it.”
Another philosophy of Chetri is to keep the players pressure-free. Before the match against Bangladesh in the group stage, he said, “We do not want to put pressure on the booters.
We have to let them play freely. This stage is a place to learn and improve ourselves.”
