Bangladesh record all wins, reach SAFF U-15 final

Bangladesh smartly reached the final of the six-nation SAFF U-15 Championship with all-win record after eliminating neighbour India by 4-2 goals in the tie-breaker match on Thursday morning.

The event took place at ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Nepal.

Both the teams finished 1-1 in the stipulated period that pushed them into the tie-breakers.

Bangladesh will play final on Saturday (Nov 3) at 2:45 pm (Bangladesh time) against the winners of Pakistan-Nepal match, who will meet each other in the 2nd semi-final on Thursday afternoon.

Bangladesh qualified for the final of the SAFF U-15 Championship for the first time after losing to hosts Nepal in the semis in 2017.

However, Bangladesh emerged champions in the SAFF U-16 Championship held in Sylhet in 2015.

In the day's crucial first semi, Patre Harsh Shailesh put India ahead in the 17th minute by a long distance shot from 35 yards. India celebrated 1-0.

When the match was almost heading for Indian victory, tournament's leading scorer Nihad Jaman Ucchash scored the match equalizer in the 3rd minute of the stoppage time from a penalty (1-1) leading the match towards tie breaker.

In the penalty shootout, Bangladesh scored four against India's two goals.

With the day's goal, Nihad Jaman of Bangladesh further consolidated his position in the scorer list making five goals.

Earlier, Bangladesh emerged Group A champions with all-win record to reach the semis beating hosts Nepal by 2-1 goals in the last group match after crushing the Maldives by 9-0 goals in the first match, which featured a hat-trick by Nihad Jaman while Nepal outplayed the Maldives 4-0 in their first appearance on Thursday last.

After the group stages, Bangladesh (Group A) and Pakistan (Group B) clinched the group crown with all-win run to qualify for the semifinals. They securing full six points from straight two encounters while Nepal (Group A) and India (Group B) finished group runners-up to reach the semifinals, collecting three points from two matches, UNB reported.

On the other hand, Pakistan clinched Group B title beating India by 2-1 goals and Bhutan by 4-0 goals while India finished Group B runners-up beating Bhutan by 4-0 goals.