In a thrilling championship game played at the ANFA Complex in Kathmandu, Nepal on Sunday, the Bangladesh U-16 national women’s football team made the country proud by defeating India 3-2 on penalties in a shootout.
After a fiercely contested normal period finished in a goalless draw, the game proceeded to a tiebreaker, which ultimately decided the outcome of the championship match.
After Bangladesh rallied from behind to force a tiebreaker in the match, goalie Yearzan Begum of Bangladesh stole the grand final show, foiling three tries by India.
Indian players had earlier promised to put pressure on coach Saiful Bari Titu’s team. However, in the fourth minute, they finally reappeared, capitalizing on mishandled passes and a lack of coordination on the part of Bangladesh’s players.
The ball penetrated the midfield and was headed home by Anuska Kumari with a perfectly angled strike since the Bangladeshi players were unable to fully protect it.
Two minutes before halftime, Saathi’s well-judged corner from close range was superbly rejected by India’s goalkeeper Munni, giving Bangladesh a golden opportunity to level.
How Bangladesh staged a brilliant fight back match in the 71st minute. Mariam Binte brought Bangladesh in the match with a header from the goal-mouth melee in the 71st minute capitalizing on a corner kick from substitute Ananna.
The ladies in red and green remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and got to the final with an all-win record with a 3-1 triumph over their final opponents in the round robin stage and won back the SAFF title WHICH they had first won in 2017.
Bangladesh also trounced and destroyed Bhutan by 6-0 goals, while also blanked Nepal 2-0 in their first round robin match.
The SAFF U-19 Championship, which took place in Dhaka last month, saw joint champions Bangladesh and India. Both teams scored 11 goals in the overtime period to split the 1-1 score at the end of regulation play.
After some debate, both teams eventually split the SAFF championship.
