Football

Nepal will be looking to step up the gears when they take to the field against Sri Lanka in the ongoing SAFF Women’s Championship at the Dashrath Stadium on Monday. 

The final game in Group B will start at 5:30pm.   

Nepal, who have three points from a 4-0 opening victory over Bhutan, will be keen to start from where they had left off.

A draw will take Nepal through to the last four, but coming off a long break, the home side are expected to go for an all-out attack. 

Having been pegged back by pouring rain last Tuesday, they will aim for a big win to send out a message to the other title contenders. Nepali attackers Sabitra Bhandari and Anita Basnet who scored a brace each in the tournament’s inaugural match will be licking their lips to add more goals to their tally.

Nepali coach Kumar Thapa wants local supporters to fill the galleries at the Dashrath Stadium in support of his team for the upcoming games. 

“Some of the fans were not able to come because of the weather. I expect bigger crowds in the next matches,” Thapa said at a conference post Bhutan match last week. 

In stark contrast, Sri Lanka need nothing short of a miracle going into Monday’s match. 

The island nation’s hopes of making a fourth semi-final appearance in the competition need a win against Nepal with a six-goal margin. They are at the bottom of the group after a 5-0 drubbing by Bhutan.

The two sides have faced each other four times in the past, with Nepal winning all of them scoring 11 goals.