Women booters aim to attack India with caution

Bangladesh will be looking to build on their momentum in the SAFF Women's Championship when the girls in red and green take on five-time champions India in the two sides' third and final match of the group stage at the Dasharath Rangasala stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal at 5:45 pm BST on Tuesday.

Both India and Bangladesh have confirmed their semi-final berths by notching two successive victories but favourites India are on the top of four-team group by virtue of better goal-difference.

The charges of Golam Rabbani Choton have no alternative but to notch their maiden win over India if they want to avoid hosts Nepal in the semi-final clash. Toppling India remains an uphill task for Bangladesh as they could only hold India to a goalless draw once out of the six meetings in the regional women's football competition.

Bangladesh forward Ritu Porna Chakma (4L) during training at the Army Headquarters Ground in Kathmandu on September 11, 2022. Photo: BFF

Bangladesh could beat India at the women's age-level tournaments on a few occasions but at the senior level, India have continued to stamp their authority over Bangladesh. The last encounter between the two sides saw Bangladesh suffering a 4-0 defeat against India in the semi-finals of the 2019 SAFF Women's Championship in Nepal.

Keeping the bleak head-to-head records in mind, neither coach Golam Rabbani Choton nor captain Sabina Khatun promised a win over India, instead they emphasised on being competitive against their cross-border rivals.

"We have already achieved our primary goal to reach the semi-finals and we don't have any pressure ahead of the India match," Choton said.

Bangladesh women's team in practice today ahead of India fixture. Photo: BFF

"We have gradually been improving and we want to show that improvement by putting up a competitive performance against India."

Having paid full respect to India, Choton said his charges are eager to keep the consistency they showed in the previous two matches against Maldives and Pakistan, and that they want to leave the ground with something fruitful.

Captain Sabina said, "Our players are coming into the senior team from the age-group teams but one thing is that we are physically fit than any other teams in the tournament. We will be trying to give our best by playing according to the game plan."

Defender Sheuli Azim, however, is focused on the defensive organisation to stop the Indian forwards, who struck a total of 12 goals in two matches against Maldives and Pakistan.

"We first want to keep our defence solid and then attack the opponents," said Sheuli, adding that they would prefer to opt for zonal marking instead of individual marking against India.