'We'll go for a victory'

Bangladesh will hope to replicate the under-15 team's feat when they take on hosts Bhutan in the inaugural SAFF U-18 Women's Championship's second semifinal at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu tonight.

India will play the first semifinal against Nepal at the same ground.

Bangladesh stormed their way into the semifinal of the six-team tournament with a straight-win record. Bangladesh inflicted a massive 17-0 loss on Pakistan before defeating the mighty Nepal 2-1 to ensure a semifinal fixture against Bhutan, who have never beaten the Bangladeshi girls at any level before.

However, Bhutan have improved vastly as evinced by their massive 12-0 thrashing of Maldives and so, they could pose a threat to the girls in red and green.

Bangladesh can however take inspiration from the achievements of their juniors, who handed a massive  5-0 defeat to Bhutan in the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship semifinal in August last year.

Interestingly, the current Bangladesh squad features about 10 players from that U-15 team among them.

Although doubts remain, Bangladesh Coach Golam Rabbani Choton will likely bank on forward Misrat Jahan Swapna for the strike position in the game against Bhutan as she scored seven goals against Pakistan and netted another against Nepal.

“Swapna sustained a small injury under the knee portion but we will wait for her. If she is not available, we have good replacements like Sanjida Akter or Marzia,” Choton said over the phone. “No doubt, we will go there for victory.

“As the seniors of this team haven't had an international match since September last year, they have been getting the rhythm match by match,” added Choton, who admitted later that the hosts will be a tough nut to crack.