Home ›› 19 Sep 2022 ›› Sport
Bangladesh National Women’s team are on the brink of creating history today as they have the opportunity to emerge as the new Champions of the Women’s SAFF Championship 2022 in the grand finale against hosts Nepal at the Dasharath Stadium.
Five-time champions India’s exit in the semi-finals meant that the tournament was guaranteed a new champion in the blockbuster final between the two best sides of the ongoing edition, raring to fight it out for South Asian supremacy.
Bangladesh, set to play in their second final, will look to wash away their 2016 sorrows, when they lost 3-1 to India, while four-time runners-up Nepal, who’ve failed at the finale the most times, will aim to put an end to their jinx.
Both finalists have built fortresses in defence as they are yet to concede a goal. But on the attacking side of things, the women in red and green have been on a scoring spree throughout the tournament, netting a whopping 20 goals in four matches, while Nepal have found the net 11 times in three games.
Bangladesh forwards, led by skipper Sabina Khatun, have all been on song leading up to the final as Mosammat Jahan Shopna, Krishna Rani Sarker, and Ritu Porna Chakma have all scored. Sabina leads the scoring charts with eight goals, including two hat-tricks, and is well on her way to becoming the golden-boot winner, with Shopna in second with four.
Though the forwards have stolen the limelight, Bangladesh’s engine has undoubtedly been the double-pivot in midfield- Monika Chakma and Maria Manda. The duo has worked tirelessly to sync with the forwards. The adept midfielders have driven progression with flamboyance and maintained supreme control making numerous recoveries in the middle of the park.
Throughout the tournament, skipper Sabina has said they planned to take it one match at a time. She put the onus on playing their natural game, and before the final, the forward assured that her team, due to the gain in experience, will not take any added pressure.
“Our players have gained more experience. The girls are mature now. The likes of Monika-Maria are no longer 14 or 15. They know how to play and can grasp the game better. I believe our girls will not take any pressure,” she said in the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
But Sabina revealed they were not oblivious to the fact that there is an opportunity to create history for Bangladesh.
“The message from the coach has been to keep up our natural game, but at the same time, he urged us to keep in mind that we have an opportunity to reach a milestone, to make history,” she told the media.
Sabina, before making the journey to Nepal, promised a wind of change in Bangladesh Women’s football. Bangladesh head coach Golam Rabbani Choton revealed that the girls had committed themselves to playing good football to redefine how Women’s football is perceived.
“Before coming here, the girls committed themselves to change the way they’ve played in previous editions. We asserted that we wanted to play good football, and with that, we are winning games as well,” he said.
“We won against India for the first time, but the final will be a different day. Both the finalists have never won the competition before. I believe our girls will try their best to make history,” he added.
Choton has remained measured in his approach and has put the onus on the girls to play their natural game. He believes his team’s biggest strength is that a similar set of players have been playing for a long time. With the intent of playing their usual game, Choton hopes that his girls will produce of repeat of their performances that led them to the final.
“Our strength is that the girls have played together for some time now. They have worked hard together. The bonding, spirit, desire, and understanding that our girls have is our biggest strengths. Whomever the opponent is, we have always looked to play our natural game. Our intent has always been to play good football and to win. We have done this in the first four games and I believe our girls will produce a repeat of that,” he said.
