Home team Nepal is taking on Bhutan in the SAFF Women's Championship today. The match will be held at Dasarath Stadium at 5:30 pm.
India already made a flying start with a 5-2 win against Pakistan in the opening match of the championship on Thursday.
Nepal has reached the final in every championship edition except for the 2016 edition. However, it has never become a champion so far. As Nepal is hosting the championship for the third time in the home ground, there is a challenge for the country to lift the trophy.
However, Bhutan is not a piece of cake this time as it has been preparing for this match for nine months, while Nepal has only had two weeks of training.
The key striker for the Nepali team, Sabitra Bhandari 'Samba', will miss today's match, and Bhutan is hoping to take advantage of her absence. Samba, who is associated with French Club En Avant Guingamp, will come back home only after playing a match scheduled for Saturday.
Bhutan's team captain Pema Choden Tshering has expressed confidence that her team will have an easier time playing the match in Samba's absence.
In the previous edition, Bhutan had reached the semi-final for the first time in history. However, it had lost to Bangladesh 8-0 in that match.
Head to head:
Nepal are Bhutan are well-acquainted rivals in the SAFF championship. They very well know each other's playing styles and strengths. They already have met four times in the past. Nepal defeated Bhutan in all those matches.
In the latest match, Nepal had registered a 4-0 win over Bhutan. Similarly, Nepal defeated Bhutan 3-0 in a match held in 2019. Likewise, Nepal routed Bhutan 8-0 in the matches held in 2014 and 2016.
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