India will fancy their chances of maintaining their stranglehold on Bangladesh when the two sides meet in the final of the SAFF U17 Championship here on Monday.
India began their tournament nine days ago with a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Bangladesh in the group stage. The same script unfolded last year as well, when the India U16 boys beat their eastern neighbours 1-0 in the first game and then 2-0 in the final.
Head coach Ishfaq Ahmed and his boys will hope for a repeat of that on Monday for a successful title defence.
For the record, the two teams have met four times in the finals of SAFF men’s age-group tournaments, with India winning thrice (U18 in 2019, U20 in 2022 and U16 in 2023) and Bangladesh emerging victorious once (U16 in 2015).
“We know Bangladesh are a good side. They did well to come from behind in the semi-final. They had some hiccups but they’ve been more stable as compared to the other teams. Our win against them is in the past. A final is a different game,” said Ahmed in the pre-match press conference.
India beat Nepal 4-2 in a frenetic semi-final on Saturday, which saw four goals scored in the last 10 minutes.
Vishal Yadav’s second-half brace put India in control but Nepal didn’t go down easily as they kept reducing the Blue Colts’ lead.
In the end, goals from substitutes Ningthoukhongjam Rishi Singh and Hemneichung Lunkim sealed the Indian win.
Set-pieces are something India have been excellent with so far. They’ve scored four goals from dead ball situations so far and Ahmed has been delighted with that.
In the second semi-final, Bangladesh showed indomitable spirit as they came from two goals down to level it at 2-2 against Pakistan thanks to Md Manik’s 74th and 94th minute goals.
They then converted all eight of their penalties to cap off a memorable comeback and enter the final.
“I am proud of my boys with how they performed. That will give us very good confidence,” said Bangladesh head coach Saiful Bari Titu.
“India are the defending champions and, undoubtedly, the favourites. They have an edge in technicality and decision making.”
