Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Titu praised holders India as favourites, but he believes they have the ability to beat them when the two teams meet in the final of the SAFF Under-17 Championship 2024 at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan, today.
The final of the seven-nation tournament is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm, when Bangladesh will be looking to win their third title while India will be searching for their sixth one.
Bangladesh had to sweat hard compared to India to reach the final as Saiful Bari Titu’s charges had to comeback from two goals down to beat Pakistan 8-7 in tiebreaker in the second semi-final on Saturday.
On the other hand, India eased to a 4-2 win over Nepal in the other semi-final.
‘They [India] are the favourites, no doubt, but with the available players that we have, we also have the ability to beat them as well. So, it would be a final, like a final,’ said Titu in the pre-final press conference on Sunday.Â
‘As a finalist, our goal is to win the trophy. We have to work very hard collectively to achieve that. We know it’s a very difficult job. The team that makes fewer mistakes, will have more chances to win.’
Bangladesh reached the semi-finals as the three-team Group A runners-up with a lone point from a 1-1 draw against the Maldives after a solitary-goal defeat to India in the first match.
Bangladesh coach rued bad luck for the loss against India in the group stage.
‘I think we were okay in the first match, as we played according to our plans, but conceded the goal in additional time after 90 minutes,’ Titu lamented.
Titu also believed that the win against Pakistan would boost their confidence in the final.
‘I am very proud of the boys and how they performed yesterday [Saturday]. That will give us very much confidence.’
In the past editions, Bangladesh and India faced each other in the final on two occasions where both teams came out on top once each.
Bangladesh beat India 4-2 on penalties in the final in 2015 before conceding a 2-0 defeat in the next edition final in 2023.
