‘Final’ before final for U-17s

Bangladesh are looking forward to edge past their cross-border rivals to book their place in the final of the SAFF U-17 Championship as the boys in red and green take on India in the first semifinal of the event at the Racecourse International Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka today.

The match will get underway at 3:45pm BST before hosts Sri Lanka encounter Nepal in the second semifinal at the same venue.

India have been a side who often had broken the hearts of Bangladesh, regardless of the competitions' age level, and their latest setback was suffered in the SAFF U-20 Championship final earlier in August this year.

Nine players of that Bangladesh U-20 team are featuring and playing important roles in the ongoing event for the charges of British coach Paul Smalley who, before the tournament began, vowed to bring the SAFF U-17 Championship trophy by beating India in the final.

However, Bangladesh are set to face India in the semifinal instead and captain Imran Khan and Co are apparently finding it hard to wait for their upcoming fixture.

"I said before that we want India in the final but we are getting them in the semifinal instead. We all are ready to play the match and remain hopeful to reach the final by beating them," said Imran, who was also part of the U-20 team.

Source - The Daily Star