U-20s eye early final berth

GBNews24 Desk//

Boosted by consecutive victories in SAFF U-20 Championship, Bangladesh are eager to all but ensuring the final berth when the boys in red and green take on Maldives in their third group match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India today.

Nepal and Bangladesh, with six points apiece after two matches, sit at the top of the five-team table while Sri Lanka, India and Maldives are yet to get off the mark. However, India and Maldives played a game less than the others.

Before the Bangladesh-Maldives match, Nepal take on India. Any result other than a win in favour of India would confirm the final berth of Bangladesh with a match left to play against Nepal, provided Paul Smalley’s charges win against Maldives.

“We are happy to get a good start, something we wanted before coming here,” said captain Tanvir Hossain through a video footage sent by the Bangladesh Football Federation.

“Our plan remains to progress match by match and having recorded two wins in two matches, our main target is to reach the final. The third match against Maldives is very important for us. If we can win against Maldives, then we can hope to play the final.”