Girls face India in crucial tie

Fresh from a 3-1 win over Bhutan in their tournament opener, Bangladesh will look to step up against a strong Indian side in their second match of the SAFF U-17 Women's Championship in Bhutan today.

The match kicks off at 3:00pm (Bangladesh time) at Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu.

Both Bangladesh and India collected three points each in their opening matches. However, India sit ahead on goal difference following a dominant 7-0 win over Nepal. With the tournament being played in a double round-robin format, the outcome of today's clash -- and the second meeting between the two sides -- could prove decisive in the championship race.

Head coach Mahbubur Rahman Litu's charges are expected to face a tough test against India, especially after their hard-fought win over Bhutan, which exposed areas for improvement.

Assistant coach Abul Hossain said the team is working on correcting their mistakes from the first game.

"Though we made some mistakes in the match against Bhutan, we still came away with a victory," Abul said in a video message sent by the Bangladesh Football Federation. He added that the players had gone through a recovery session after the game.

"We will take the field against India after rectifying our mistakes because we don't want to repeat them. We don't want to look back; our focus is on the India match," he said, adding that the coaching staff would finalise the game plan after analysing India's performance against Nepal.