Bangladesh have been Nepal’s arch-rival in women’s football for long. Their rivalry heated up after Bangladesh denied Nepal their first SAFF title in the sixth edition in 2022.

Nepal had defeated India 1-0 in the semifinals on September 16, 2022. It was Nepal’s first win over India in the South Asian tournament.

India had denied Nepal the title in the last five editions, having defeated Nepal in the finals of 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2019 and the semifinals of 2016.

However, despite Nepal knocking India out of the tournament in the semifinal of 2022 and the dramatic semifinal—where the match was obstructed for over an hour—of 2024, they lost to Bangladesh in the finals. And that too at home.

Nepal first played Bangladesh in 2010, during the South Asian Games. Winning the first encounter 1-0, Nepal had never lost to Bangladesh in 11 encounters until 2021. But they lost in the last two meetings, that too in the finals.

It is Nepal’s golden generation of women footballers. They have entered every SAFF Championship as well as other international series as the title favourites. But they have failed in over a dozen finals.

It is probably the first time that Nepal’s women’s team have entered the SAFF Championship without the tag of ‘title favourites’. The reasons: the team does not have striker Sabitra Bhandari aka Samba, and India and Bangladesh have gotten far stronger than Nepal.

India are already a good team. Bangladesh, meanwhile, have made South Asian counterparts jealous with their unprecedented development and growth in the last five years. They both qualified for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which Nepal missed after losing to Uzbekistan in penalties during the qualifier in July last year.

Nepal are facing Bangladesh in the semifinal of the 2026 SAFF Women’s Championship on Wednesday.

The way Nepal struggled against Bhutan and Sri Lanka, which they won 1-0 and 2-0, respectively, in the group stage, suggests that head coach Nabin Neupane’s squad will have a hard time against Bangladesh.

But there are some positives for Nepal.

First, Neupane is yet to field his best playing XI, which fans will be able to witness against Bangladesh. He has used different players in his starting XI against Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Neupane now also has Preeti Rai, who missed the group stage fixtures due to club commitments in Cambodia, in midfield. And Rai was there in the training session at the Bambolim Athletics Stadium, Goa, on Tuesday afternoon.

Rai’s inclusion in the squad seemed to have added extra motivation to the team. With Rai supporting Renuka Nagarkote in the midfield, Nepal are expected to penetrate the Bangladeshi defence.

Neupane was also seen practising penalty shootouts during the training, suggesting the team would be ready for a tie-breaker too.

But Nepal’s training session was not attended by penalty-specialist-goalie Anjana Rana Magar and defender Hira Kumari Bhujel. Neupane later informed that they were feeling unwell.

“The match against Bangladesh is important not just because it is a semifinal. It is the fixture where the team can show what it is capable of,” Neupane said. “The team is physically and mentally ready for the game. The players are excited in a good way as well.”

Neupane also informed that the team was not looking for ‘revenge’ against Bangladesh as they had denied Nepal the title in the last two editions.

“We do not have any remorse for the losses of the past,” he added. “Our only aim is to win the trophy. And winning the semifinal is the way forward.”

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi team cancelled its Tuesday training session to grieve the demise of player Sheuli Azim’s mother.

The Bangladeshi team, led by head coach Peter James Butler, will not be much affected by missing the training session. But they have been affected by problems within the team.

Bangladeshi sports journalists say that the current Bangladeshi women’s football team is in a ‘self-destruction mode’.

A lack of proper communication between the senior and young players of Bangladesh is easily visible during their matches. Bangladeshi media also reported that the team had a heated dispute at the team’s hotel in Goa a couple of days ago.

It was reported that Bangladesh’s team manager Khalid Mahamud was at the centre of the dispute. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) has reportedly drawn the attention of the Bangladesh Football Federation over Mahamud’s behaviour.

According to Bangladeshi journalists in Goa, the only team that can defeat Bangladesh now is the team itself. And it was clear during their performance against the Maldives, which they won 4-2, and India, which they lost 0-3. It was clear that one group of players were trying not to pass or communicate with another group during Bangladesh’s group-stage fixtures.

Bangladesh may arrive in Goa carrying internal disputes and off-field distractions, but Nepal know better than to read too much into them. The memories of two painful final defeats remain fresh, and the gulf between the two sides has only narrowed through hard-earned lessons. With Preeti back in the squad and their strongest lineup finally available, Nepal have a chance to rewrite the narrative.

Yet to do so, they must produce their most complete performance of the tournament against the team that has repeatedly stood between them and history. And Neupane says his players are ready.

“Bangladesh are a good team. We do not care about the disputes and controversies surrounding their team,” said Neupane. “We still have to give more than a hundred percent to defeat Bangladesh tomorrow.”