Football

Nepal face arguably their biggest test in the SAFF Women’s Championship on Friday when they meet India in the semi-finals at the Dashrath Stadium. The match kicks off at 5:30pm.

Nepal entered the last four on a high with comfortable wins over Bhutan and Sri Lanka. India finished second in the group after suffering a 3-0 loss to Bangladesh – their first ever defeat in
the competition history.

But India are known to raise their performance on big occasions. They have not won five SAFF championship on a trot just by accident. Opposition can only take them lightly at their own peril.

That is not lost on Nepal coach Kumar Thapa, who was also in charge the last time Nepal met India at this stage of the competition, with India winning 3-1 in 2014.

Thapa has demanded his players to strictly follow the team system with any deviation when they take to the field on Friday.

“Our players were rushing to score goals rather than playing according to the formation,” he said, venting his displeasure at the approach of some of the Nepali players.

Talking to reporters after a 6-0 win over Sri Lanka on Monday, Thapa expressed belief that this semi-final encounter with India will be as tough as any other.  

“We cannot afford to do so when we play against teams like India. They will punish you for a small mistake,” he said.

A victory on Friday would take Nepal a step closer to realising their dream of a maiden SAFF title.

India, despite stumbling to a loss in their final group tie, are confident of making a sixth appearance in the final.

“We had a bad game against Bangladesh,” conceded Indian coach Suren Chettri. “But we are still in the race. We will make necessary adjustments to produce a good result.”

In a veiled warning to the home side, Chettri said: “Nepal is always a tough side to face. But we have had experience of beating them in their backyard.”

The Nepal-India showdown will be preceded by the semi-final between Bangladesh and Bhutan. Bhutan recovered from their opening defeat against Nepal to make it to their maiden semi-final appearance on the back of a big win over Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh won all three group matches in the competition so far, scoring 12 goals with a clean sheet for their fourth appearance in the semi-finals. Bangladesh have defeated Bhutan in all three previous meetings between the sides.

They will be looking to keep their winning streak when they renew acquaintances with Bhutan on Friday. The match starts at 1pm.