Bangladesh play 1-1 draw with Nepal

Coming from behind, hosts Bangladesh made a frustrating 1-1 draw with Himalayan nation Nepal in their last match of the  five-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-17 Women's Championship' 2023 at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur here on Tuesday.

Hosts Bangladesh was trailing by 0-1 goal in the first half.

Senu Pariyar put the Nepal teen ahead in the very 8th minute of the match by an angular shot from danger zone beating two Bangladeshi defenders in skill and speed (1-0).

Forward Sagorika scored the match equaliser for Bangladesh in the 75th minute (1-1).

Sagorika earlier spoiled a good opportunity in the stoppage time of the first half but she sent the ball straight to opponent custodian in one to one situation.

Earlier, Bangladesh made a flying start in the regional soccer meet with an emphatic 8-1 goals victory over Bhutan, but they lost to the European side Russia by 0-3 goal in the 2nd match.

However, Bangladesh bounced back in the tournament beating their giant neighbor India by 1-0  goal in the 3rd match.

Favourite Russia made an easy passage to clinch the title after winning the three straight league matches against Bangladesh (3-0), Nepal (3-0), Bhutan ( 9-1) and needed just a draw in the last match against India Tuesday evening to assure the five-nation crown.

An per tournament format, each team play each other in single round robin league basis matches and the team with the most points will be the champions. 

India, which also in the race beating Nepal 4-1, outplaying  Bhutan 9-0 and lost to Bangladesh 0-1 and will play all-win Russia in the last match Tuesday evening to decide tournament's fate.

Five countries, four from South Asia --- India, Nepal, Bhutan and hosts Bangladesh, alongwith European side Russia --are taking part in the nine-day meet, organized by SAFF, under the supervision of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in collaboration with UEFA.