Nepal women’s football team misses SAFF final after 10 years

The Nepal national women’s football team has been denied a spot in the SAFF Women’s Championship final after 10 years. This marks the second time in the history of the SAFF Women’s Championship that Nepal has missed reaching the final.

In the first semifinal held at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, India, on Wednesday, Nepal was defeated 2-1 by Bangladesh, failing to secure a place in the final.

The last time Nepal was eliminated in the semifinals was in 2016, when they lost to India. Since then, Nepal had consistently reached the finals.

In the previous two editions of the final, Nepal was stunned by Bangladesh. Ritu Porna Chakma and Mosammat Sagarika scored for Bangladesh in their victory. Although Nepal’s Geeta Rana scored the opening goal, it ended up being a consolation.

With this win, Bangladesh is on track for a hat-trick of titles. Previously, Bangladesh defeated Nepal to claim the title in the 2022 and 2024 editions held at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar.

Nepal took an early lead in the 23rd minute with Geeta’s goal. The goal came from a corner kick by Deepa Shahi, which Bangladesh’s goalkeeper Mili Akter failed to clear, allowing an unmarked Geeta to score easily.

This was her second goal in the ongoing tournament. She had also scored in Nepal’s 1-0 victory against Bhutan in the group stage. However, Nepal could not maintain this lead. In the first minute of injury time in the first half, Bangladesh equalized against Nepal.

Ritu’s corner kick was punched away by goalkeeper Anjila Tumbapo Subba but still found the net. In the third minute of injury time, Bangladesh secured their victory. Taking advantage of a lapse by the Nepali defenders, Bangladesh won the match 2-1. Sagarika scored from a cross by Shamsunnahar amidst a scramble. Both players had entered the field as substitutes.