India start as favourites in SAFF U19 summit clash against Bangladesh
Yupia , A rampaging India will start as clear favourites to lift the trophy when they face familiar rivals Bangladesh in the SAFF U19 Championship summit clash here on Sunday.
India have steam-rolled their opponents in the two group matches, beating Sri Lanka 8-0 and Nepal 4-0, before thrashing Maldives 3-0 in the semifinals during their all-win run so far.
Bangladesh are also unbeaten so far, having drawn 2-2 with Maldives and beaten Bhutan 3-0 in their group matches before prevailing over Nepal 2-1 in the semifinals.
A win on Sunday will hand India a record-extending 10th crown in the SAFF age-group men's tournament. India have won the U15, U16, and U17 tournaments twice each, and the U18, U19 and U20 once each.
Head coach Bibiano Fernandes has won three of them and is looking for his fourth.
Bangladesh are familiar opponents for the Blue Colts. The two nations have met in four SAFF men's age-group finals, and India have been victorious in all the four, including last year's SAFF U17 final, which they won 2-0.
Both the goal scorers in that 2-0 win, Md Arbash and Mohammed Kaif, are part of the current U19 squad.
"We will give our best on the pitch... it will be a good game and we will entertain the crowd the same way we have entertained them in the last three games," said Fernandes in the pre-match press conference.
"We didn't play Bangladesh in the tournament, but have seen them play and know how good they are. They have shown good character, especially in the semi-finals. We respect that, and we will prepare and give our best in the final."
Bangladesh head coach Golam Robbani Choton said, "Our boys have played good football in all the matches so far, they've learnt a lot, and now are quite confident in their abilities. We are ready for the final."
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