Title favorite Nepal secured berth in the semifinals of the seven-team tournament as the winner of Group A maintaining its unbeaten run. Nepal defeated Bhutan 7-0 and Pakistan 3-0 in the group stage while it was held to a 1-1 draw by eventual group runner-up Afghanistan.
Bangladesh entered the semifinals from the three-team Group B as the runner-up behind India. Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 3-1 and lost 2-0 to India. [break]
Nepal´s coach Bal Gopal Maharjan, who has set his sights on the title, said his side is capable of beating Bangladesh. "We will play for a win and we are capable of it," said Maharjan, who plans to play all-attacking football from the beginning.
Among the players in the starting line-up, central midfielder Anil Rai and right winger Bikash Thapa are injured. "The injuries are minor and it will be confirmed on Saturday if they can play or not. However, we have sound replacements in case of their absence," said Maharjan, who claimed that his side was technically, tactically and physically superior to the opponent.
Maharjan, however, was careful not to underrate the opponents. "Though the whole team is confident of beating Bangladesh we are careful not to be overconfident. We will give our hundred percent," said Maharjan.
Bangladesh coach Koster Rene admitted that his side would be the underdog against the home team. "Nepal is a better side and they have been training together for a long time," said the Dutch, referring to the Academy team of Nepal. "The main problem of Bangladesh team is that it was assembled a couple of weeks prior to the tournament and lacks quality players," said Koster, describing Nepal as the favorite.
"Nepal has some very good players. Nepal has 80 percent chance of winning and Bangladesh 20 percent," said Koster, adding that Nepal´s forward Bimal Gharti Magar is capable of playing in Europe. Though full of praise for the Nepali team, Koster, however, denied that he was afraid to play against the home team. "I have got plans against Nepal and we will put up a good fight against them."
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