SAFF U17 Championship: India gears up for a challenging Bangladesh side in summit clash

After opening its SAFF U17 Championship 2024 campaign with a 1-0 victory against Bangladesh, India will face the same opponent in the summit clash at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu on Monday.

India and Bangladesh 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 winning once (U16 in 2015).

“We know Bangladesh are a good side. They did well to come from behind in the semifinal. 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 India head coach Ishfaq Ahmed in the pre-match press conference.

ALSO READ: ISL 2024-25: Edwin Sydney Vanspaul returns to Chennaiyin FC

“There’s always some pressure on India in every SAFF tournament as favourites. We have to keep repeating our success. If we want to perform well, consistency is important. I stress that to my boys. We are here to again achieve what we did last year,” the former India international added.

India captain and midfielder Ngamgouhou Mate said, “Bangladesh are one of the best teams in this tournament. But we are here on a mission to win the trophy and play good football.”

India beat Nepal 4-2 in a frenetic semifinal 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 it kept shortening the Blue Colts’ lead.

In the end, goals from substitutes Ningthoukhongjam Rishi Singh and Hemneichung Lunkim sealed the Indian win.

“It became a bit tight towards the end. We should’ve made sure to kill the game before. But that’s football sometimes. You miss chances and the opponents score in the first one they get. But I’m glad we managed to control the game towards the end and scored the fourth goal as well,” said Ahmed.

Set-pieces are something India has been excellent with so far. The Blue Colts have scored four goals from dead-ball situations so far to Ahmed’s delight.

“We have been working a lot on our set pieces. We scored from a corner against Indonesia also. We have big bodies and we try to utilise that to our advantage. I’m happy with how the boys have been doing, whether it’s from set pieces or crosses,” he said.

In the second semifinal, Bangladesh showed indomitable spirit as it came from two goals down to level it at 2-2 against Pakistan thanks to Md Manik’s 74th and 94th-minute goals. It then converted all eight of its 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. I think we did okay against India in the first match but conceded in injury time. We need to be at our best and I think we have the ability. Finals are there to win titles. We cannot be happy to just reach the final. Our goal is to have the trophy,” he added.