Whatever the outcome of the final, the SAFF Women’s Championship 2022 is finally set to get new champions.(From left) Nepal coach Kumar Thapa and captain Anjila Tumbapo Subba and Bangladesh captain Sabina Khatun and coach Golam Robbani Choton are pictured with the winners’ trophy at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar on Sunday, on the eve of their SAFF Women’s Championship 2022 final. Post Photo: Hemanta Shrestha
Hosts Nepal and Bangladesh will head into Monday’s final of the SAFF Women’s Championship 2022 with all eyes on history as the sub-continental event will crown new champions for the first time in more than a decade.
The final at the Dasharath Stadium will be without India—the winners of all previous five editions since the inception of the biennial competition in 2010—after the defending champions crashed out following a 1-0 loss against the hosts in the semi-finals on Friday.
Bangladesh, who progressed into the final after demolishing Bhutan 8-0 in the semi-finals, had edged India 3-0 in the group stage to inflict on the record champions their first ever defeat at the SAFF.
Whatever outcome the final will yield, the SAFF Women’s Championship is finally set to get new champions after 12 years.
Both Nepal and Bangladesh have maintained perfect records en route to the final. Nepal scored 11 goals in three matches and Bangladesh 20 in four games. Neither team conceded a goal.
Nepal’s coach Kumar Thapa said that his team were determined to keep the trophy at home and create a new history.
“We have worked very hard for this championship and we are very focused. We are physically and mentally ready,” Thapa said, speaking at the pre-match conference in Dasharath Stadium. “SAFF trophy is our target and we will leave no stone unturned to win it.”
Thapa is in his second stint with the national women’s side after the 2016 edition, the only occasion Nepal failed to make it to the final of the regional competition.
“Bangladesh are a very strong side,” Thapa noted. “Like us, they have kept clean sheets in all matches. We expect a tough challenge from them. But we are ready to score. Our players have the quality, experience and determination to win, and we have home support as well. I believe we will create history on Monday.”
Nepal captain Anjila Tumbapo Subba said her side will give their best in the final.
“It is our motto that we can and we will,” she said. “We will try to minimise our errors and play as a team. We will try our best to win the trophy.”
Nepal are expected to be backed by a huge number of home supporters considering their presence in the semi-final match. “The presence of home supporters will definitely motivate and energise our players,” Thapa said.
In-form Bangladesh are also looking to win a first SAFF title.
“The final will be very competitive and we expect a lot of home supporters,” said Bangladesh coach Golam Robbani Choton, who has been in charge of the team for more than a decade. “But if we review our last four matches, our girls have played very well. They are confident they will take the same energy and performance into the final as well.”
One of Nepal’s major concerns is the fitness of Sabitra Bhandari, the star forward and all-time leading scorer who was rested in the last two matches after she suffered from dengue. Bhandari scored twice in Nepal’s 4-0 win against Bhutan to extend her scoring tally to 40 goals for the national side.
“She trained with the team but we are still waiting for the report. The report will say whether she could play or not,” Thapa said.
In the absence of Bhandari, Preeti Rai has teamed up with Rashmi Kumari Ghising in the front line and both have put on an impressive performance. Rai provided the assist to Ghising’s decisive goal in Nepal’s first ever SAFF win over India on Friday.
Bangladesh’s free flowing game and sound coordination between the players, who have been together with the same squad for at least five years, could be a threat for the home team. Bangladesh captain Sabina Khatun is one of the best in business, scoring the tournament highest eight goals so far. It is certain that she will be a real threat to Nepal in the final.
The two sides have faced eight times in the past. Nepal have won six matches and drawn two. In the last two friendly matches played between them in September last year at the Dasharath Stadium, Nepal won 2-1 in the first and were held to a 0-0 draw in the second.
But it is the current form that counts in football rather than the previous records and stats.
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