Nepal & Bangladesh advance to final
Dhaka
7 Feb 2023
Nepal and Bangladesh advanced to the finals of the SAFF U20 Women’s Championship 2023 after they finished the group round with the highest number of points.
In the first match of the day, Nepal came from a goal behind to beat India 3-2. The win gave Nepal six points from three matches, while Bangladesh routed Bhutan 5-0 to finish the group stage with seven points from three matches.
India came into the match needing just a draw to move to the finals of the tournament. The proceedings was just the way India had wanted. They went in front in the 21st minute via a goal from Apurna Narzary and controlled much of the possession.
Anjali Chand gave Nepal the equalizer in the 48th minute capitalizing on a blunder by India keeper Anshika who tried to clear the ball under some pressure, but hit it straight at Amisha Karki; Anjali Chand got on the rebound and put it into an empty net.
Preeti Rai scored Nepal’s second from a penalty in the 69th minute. Amisha Karki secured the win for Nepal with just a minute of regulation time left, when she tapped in a low cross by Preeti Rai, to make the score 3-1 in Nepal’s favour.
Bangladesh defeated Bhutan with goals from Most Aklima Khatun (22’, 60’), Shamsunnahar (30’, 53’ 61’).