With just one win, Bangladesh have moved a long way towards securing a place in the semi-finals of the SAFF U-17 Championship.
Playing attacking football from the start, Huda and Co. kept Nepal under constant pressure. After several attempts went in vain, the match’s “deadlock” was finally broken in the 30th minute. Within two minutes of the second half, Bangladesh added two more goals to take complete control. With an easy victory, Golam Rabbani Choton’s team moved much closer to the semi-finals of the SAFF U-17 Championship.
On Thursday at Colombo’s Racecourse Ground, Bangladesh defeated Nepal 4-0 in their Group ‘A’ match. In this three-team group, both Bangladesh and Nepal have 3 points each. Nepal had opened their group campaign by beating Sri Lanka 2-0.
Bangladesh will play their final group match on Saturday against Sri Lanka, who are yet to earn a point.
In the 5th minute, captain Najmul Huda Faisal picked up a brilliant defence-splitting pass from a teammate, rounded the goalkeeper, and from a difficult angle saw his shot rattle the side netting. Despite mounting several more attacks, Bangladesh still couldn’t beat Nepal’s goalkeeper.
Their relentless pressure on Nepal’s defence finally paid off in the 30th minute. Faisal’s corner was punched away by the goalkeeper but the ball fell to Sabbir Islam. The defender’s strike on the run flew into the net in the blink of an eye.
At the start of the second half, Bangladesh doubled their lead. Picking up a through pass from a teammate, Apu Rahman chipped the ball perfectly over the sliding goalkeeper.
Almost immediately after, Bangladesh increased their advantage again. From just outside the box, Mohammad Arif’s low diagonal shot deceived the diving Ram Bahadur and found the net.
Mohammad Manik’s goal in the 65th minute put Bangladesh on course for an easy victory.
So far, this age-group competition has been held in three categories. Bangladesh were champions in the U-16 category in 2015 and in the U-15 category in 2018.
The U-17 category has been held twice before. In the 2017 edition, Bangladesh finished third, and in the most recent edition in 2024, the team were runners-up.
