SAFF U19 C'ship: India U17 women to face Bangladesh for final spot

The Indian U17 women's team will play Bangladesh in the SAFF U19 Women's Championship. After defeating Nepal 1-0, a second win could secure their spot in the final. The tournament is part of their preparation for the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup.

The Indian U17 women's Football team will take on Bangladesh in their second match of the SAFF U19 Women's Championship 2026 at the Pokhara Rangasala Stadium in Pokhara on Monday, February 2, according to AIFF.

India is participating in the tournament with their U17 team as part of their preparations for the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup that will be held in China from April 30. The Young Tigresses began their campaign with a solitary-goal victory against hosts Nepal on Saturday. That means another win against Bangladesh, coupled with Bhutan failing to beat Nepal in the later kick-off on Monday, will confirm India's place in the final with a game to spare.

Opening Victory Against Nepal

The India U17s were made to work hard by Nepal, with the only goal coming in the 49th minute via the familiar scoring boots of Pearl Fernandes. It was the 16-year-old's 10th goal for the U17 national team.

Coach's Post-Match Reflections

Regarding the team's performance in her first game in charge, head coach Pamela Conti, after the match, said, "In my humble opinion, with me being a new coach, the players had a strong desire to do more, and to prove themselves. They are still not fully secure in their place in the team, and they want to show more, which led us to make more mistakes than usual.

"Overall, I am happy because I saw good things. But there were also things that were not so good, which we need to work on. And that is exactly why we are here," reiterating that the Young Tigresses are taking this tournament as a foundation to build upon, while working towards the all-important Asian Cup.

While the Pokhara Rangasala Stadium is located in a picturesque setting with the Annapurna Himalayan range serving as a beautiful backdrop, the pitch conditions were anything but. "The quality of the ground did affect us a lot. It makes playing with ball control and passing much more difficult. We have technically skilled players, and were superior to Nepal in that aspect, but the conditions definitely played their part," said the Italian.

Looking Ahead: The Bangladesh Showdown

However, the attention is already on the next match against India's traditional rivals in women's youth football, Bangladesh. The Young Tigresses had a recovery session in the pool on Sunday morning, followed by a 75-minute on-pitch training session at the Lamachaur Football Stadium in the afternoon. Conti and her coaching staff were in attendance to watch Bangladesh's 12-0 win over Bhutan on Saturday.

Giving her opinion on the opponents coached by Englishman Peter Butler, who is also in charge of the senior team, Conti said, "I think Bangladesh are a physically strong opponent. We need to take that into account. I believe that technically, we can hurt them a lot if we work better. She added, "But at the same time, I always think that there is much more to work on. Whether you win, lose, or draw, you have to come back and say: this is not enough, we cannot be satisfied with what we have. And for us, with very little time working together, the players have had to learn a new system of play that we have introduced. We have to improve a lot to achieve results. That means working, especially on the physical side." (ANI)

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