Bangladesh’s path to the semifinals of the six-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-17 Championship’2024 has become less certain following their 1-1 draw with the Islanders Maldives in their final group match on Sunday night at Changlimithang Stadium in the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan.
Last Friday, in the opening match of the tournament, Bangladesh lost to their fierce rival India 0–1, although fighting hard for the first 90 minutes. They gave up a goal in injury time.
However, Bangladesh’s semifinal spot will now depend on the outcome of the last Group A encounter between India and the Maldives, which is set for next Tuesday, September 24. Bangladesh needs to win the match by a minimum of 2-0 in order for India to advance to the semifinals.
Following a goalless first half of the match, Murshed Ali gave Bangladesh the lead with a fantastic shot from the top of the box in the 49th minute, using his teammate’s left cross to make it 1-0.
In the 79th minute, Mohamed Ilan Imran, the captain of the Maldives, tied the score with a placement shot that beat two opponent defenders and advanced the custodian (1-1). The first half of the teams’ game of the day ended in a scoreless draw.
Bangladesh controlled the first half of play from start to finish, failing only to score a goal. In the first half, they blew half a dozen excellent opportunities, the majority of which the Maldives custodian had saved.
Bangladesh continued to dominate in the second half, but their forwards’ lack of confidence prevented them from reaping the rewards. In addition, they gave up a goal that went against the flow of the game.
In the SAFF Junior tournament, Bangladesh had a formidable Group A, comprising India and the Maldives, while the hosts Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan made up Group B.
On September 28, the winners of Group A will play the runners-up from Group B in the first semifinal at 2:00 pm, and the winners of Group B will play the runners-up from Group A at 6:00 pm in the second semifinal. The last game is set to start on September 30 at 6:00 PM.
 U-17 Championship'2024 has become less certain following their 1-1 draw with the Islanders Maldives in their final group match on Sunday night at Changlimithang Stadium in the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan.){kind=link}