Sports Reporter

The wait is over for Bangladesh women’s football team following a two-and-a-half-year break as the women in red and green return to the international stage to square off against Nepal in the first of two FIFA friendly matches at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu today.

The match will kick off at 5:15pm (Bangladesh time). Interestingly, it was in Nepal where the team played their last international match during 2019 SAFF Women’s Championship semifinals against India and this time, the hosts, who never lost to Bangladesh at senior level, are the opponents.

As part of preparation for AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in Uzbekistan, the charges of Golam Rabbani Choton would be looking to address and rectify loopholes through today’s match and the second match on September 12 while having had set an objective to remain undefeated against Nepal.

“The girls are thrilled to get back to playing international matches and can’t wait to take the field,” Choton told The Daily Star over phone from Kathmandu yesterday.

“Obliviously, we want to play a competitive match against Nepal and improve our FIFA ranking by not losing. I can assure you the girls will try to give their best on the pitch,” said the successful women’s coach.

The players had a light practice session at the gym yesterday morning but rain prevented them from training with the ball at the match venue. However, later in the afternoon, they toured the venue to learn about its historical side.

Choton was a bit worried about the footballers’ prolonged absence from international engagements even though all squad players had participated in two women’s leagues during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The only problem is that the girls were out of international commitments for such a long period, so I’m concerned about their temperament. If they can calmly adjust with the tempo of the match, they will perform well. Otherwise, it can be a problem,” concluded Choton.

Nepal have relatively experienced players, who had beaten their Bangladeshi counterparts 3-0 during 2019 SAFF Women’s Championship. Sabitra Bhandari, who scored one in that match, might miss today’s encounter due to injury. Bangladesh however, could extract inspiration from holding Nepal to a 1-1 draw during Olympic Qualifiers in 2018.