Bangladesh won their first-ever SAFF U-20 Championship on Wednesday, defeating host Nepal 4-1 in the final played at the ANFA Complex in Nepal, thanks to a brace from forward Mirajul Islam.
In addition to striker Mirajul Islam, who scored twice in each half, Rabby Hossen Rahul and Piash Ahmed Nova both scored once in the second half to give Bangladesh a resounding win on Nepali territory.
For Nepal, Samir Tamang scored the only goal.
The referee added two minutes of injury time after the 45 minutes of regulation time. At that point in time, Bangladesh seized the lead thanks to a free kick. When forward Mirajul Islam tried to advance the ball into the danger zone, a Nepalese defender fouled him. The free kick was signaled by the referee, and Mirajul converted it with a powerful strike from outside the D-box.
Bangladesh returned to the field more disciplined and scored three more goals in the second half after taking a 1-0 lead.
In the 54th minute, Mirajul, who finished the competition with four goals, extended the lead once more. Upon receiving a cross from the left flank, he brilliantly headed the ball into the net to increase the score to 2-0.
Nepal was unable to recover after losing two straight goals. Bangladesh continued to dominate and scored their third goal in the 69th minute through Rabby.
Even though they had more scoring opportunities than Bangladesh during the first half, Nepal took the lead in the 80th minute through a header from Samir Tamang, who took advantage of a defender and goalkeeper error.
In the match, Nova completed Bangladesh’s decisive victory in the 95th minute.
Prior to this, Bangladesh was defeated by Nepal 2-1 in the group stage game.
The two-time champion Nepal team was cheered on by the jam-packed local fans throughout the arena. In the first half of the encounter, Nepal controlled and wasted a few scoring opportunities. The hosts had the upper hand in both ball possession and attack, but they were unable to take the lead due to poor finishing.
