Nepal will face two-time defending champions Bangladesh in the first semi-final of the SAFF Women's Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday. It will be one of the most important matches in the history of Nepali women's football. If Nepal fails in this match, it will be one of the team's worst performances in the history of the tournament. Nepal was stopped in the semi-finals only once in 2016. Such a performance will not be tolerated now.

Nepal has been the runner-up in the remaining editions of the tournament. In that sense, Nepal has been ranked as the second best team in the tournament six times. This time, the image of not reaching the final will also be erased. No, if Nepal reaches the final, it will be another opportunity for Nepal, to win a major title for the first time. That is why coach Navin Neupane has said that this is a 'very big' game for Nepali women's football.

Nepal had practiced in the morning at the Bembolim Athletic Sports Ground the day before the semi-final. While appearing before the media after the training, Coach Neupane claimed that the Nepali team was fully prepared for the semi-final and said, ‘The semi-final is not a big game for Nepal women’s football, it is a very big game.’

Nepal was defeated by Bangladesh in the finals of the last two editions of the tournament. So, Nepal will have an opportunity to avenge the defeats suffered in these two finals. But Coach Neupane claimed that there is no such thing as revenge in football. He said, ‘We do not have the feeling of revenge in our minds.’ Our only objective is to win the tournament title and the semi-finals are a stepping stone before that.'

The Bangladeshi team, however, had canceled Tuesday's training program. The team did not participate in the training program due to the death of Bangladeshi player Seuli Azam's mother. Apart from that, the Bangladeshi women's team itself has been embroiled in controversy recently. But coach Neupane considered Bangladesh a strong opponent. He claims that he has no interest in that controversy.

He said, 'Despite the rumors about the Bangladeshi team outside, they are a strong team. We are not in favor of considering Bangladesh weak. I think Bangladesh is a technically strong team. Our focus is on the game against this team. We have to present ourselves strongly in the game against Bangladesh. We have to play better than in the previous game.' That means Nepal will have to play with more than 100 percent contribution.

Preeti Rai, who arrived in Goa just the day before from Cambodia, participated in the training. She is expected to play from the start against Bangladesh. After her arrival, Renuka Nagarkote will handle the midfield of the Nepali team along with Preeti. During the training, the Nepali team also practiced penalty shootouts. Nepal is probably also looking towards a possible tiebreaker.

But at this time, Anjana Rana Magar, who is a penalty specialist, felt unwell. She did not participate in the training. Hirakumari Bhujel also did not come to the training due to her unwellness. On the other hand, Bangladesh coach Peter Boulter had said after their match in the league stage that the match against Nepal would be exciting. The second semi-final of the tournament will be held on Wednesday. In that, record five-time winners India will face Bhutan.

Searching for first win in 5 years

One fact establishes how strong Bangladeshi women's football has become in recent times. This is that Nepal has not been able to defeat this South Asian rival since 2021. That is, Nepal has failed to win over Bangladesh for 5 years. So far, there have been 13 matches between these two teams. Out of which, Nepal has won 6 matches. All these victories came in the first 10 years.

The first match between Nepal and Bangladesh was in 2010, at the South Asian Games. After that, Nepal remained undefeated against Bangladesh continuously until 2021. Moreover, Bangladesh has not been able to score a single goal against Nepal in the first 4 matches. After that, Nepal has not been able to defeat Bangladesh. They could do nothing but envy the progress they have made.

Bangladesh has won twice in the last 6 matches between the two teams. Both victories were achieved in the final of the last SAFF Championship. This is the first time the two teams are playing each other since Bangladesh defeated Nepal in the title match at the Dashrath Stadium in 2024. Meanwhile, Bangladesh managed to qualify for the Asia Cup, but Nepal could not even come close to achieving such an achievement.

Bangladesh in ‘self-destruction mode’

The journey that the Bangladeshi women’s team has taken in the last 5 years is very tempting. It is also surrounded by controversy and confusion. Moreover, the media there has been accusing Bangladeshi women’s football of going the opposite way recently. The word they use for that is ‘self-destruction mode’, meaning ruining their own football.