Bangladesh have won the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship by defeating Nepal 4-0 in the final match held today. With this win, Bangladesh finished the tournament unbeaten and claimed the title for the fifth time.
So far, only Bangladesh and India have won this tournament. They also once shared the title jointly. India has won it twice in total.
Nepal finished as runners-up for the third time. Previously, Nepal missed out on the title in 2018 and 2023 both times losing to Bangladesh in the final. Nepal also holds a record of finishing third on three different occasions.
Nepal needed a win in today’s match to lift the trophy, while a draw would have been enough for Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh played an aggressive game and dominated Nepal throughout the match.
The match was played at the Bashundhara Kings Stadium, and Bangladesh took the lead early on. In the 8th minute, Nepal’s goalkeeper Sujata Tamang rushed forward during a counterattack, and Bangladeshi player Sagarika calmly dribbled past her to score the opening goal.
Sagarika had previously received a red card in an earlier match against Nepal and had missed three matches due to suspension. Today marked her return.
Bangladesh continued to attack aggressively and missed a few good chances to extend the lead in the first half. Nepal, on the other hand, failed to create any strong chances. The first half ended with Bangladesh leading 1-0.
Nepal had no choice but to push forward in the second half. However, in the 51st minute, Sagarika scored again from inside the box after receiving a precise pass from Mile Akter, making it 2-0.
Just seven minutes later, in the 58th minute, Sagarika completed her hat-trick with a brilliant volley from a long pass inside the box. She wasn’t done yet Sagarika scored her fourth goal in the 77th minute with another powerful strike inside the box. Bangladesh secured a dominant 4-0 victory and became champions.
Bangladesh finished the tournament with six wins in six matches, collecting a perfect 18 points. Nepal came second with 12 points, winning four matches and losing two.
Nepal had earlier lost 3-2 to Bangladesh in the group stage. Besides those losses, Nepal recorded strong victories against Sri Lanka and Bhutan beating Sri Lanka 7-0 in both matches, and defeating Bhutan 6-1 and 8-0.
