Spirits rising in Bangladesh squad before final

Bangladesh's women's football squad is emerging from recent grief and firmly focusing their attention on Saturday's SAFF Championship final against hosts India, following a much-needed recovery day in Goa.

Easing the emotional toll of teammate Sheuli Azim’s mother's passing, Thursday featured no on-field training.

Players completed hotel ice baths ahead of tactical video analysis.

Assistant coach Abul Hossain confirmed that spirits are steadily rising within the camp.

"The team's condition is definitely good now because we played well yesterday (Wednesday) to reach the final," Abul said. "Sheuli is also feeling a bit more uplifted; we all offered our condolences and dedicated the win to her. She is doing well now. Sheuli being well means the whole team is motivated; there are no issues."

Reflecting on Wednesday's semi-final victory, Abul stated, "Yesterday we played a semi-final match against Nepal. Nepal is a good team too. The girls did well. I'll say that they did well because Nepal isn't a bad team; they came with full strength. We have a mixed team, blending youth and seniors, making it a good squad. The girls tried to do well and succeeded."

Addressing the squad's resilience under pressure, he added, "Playing a big match, a semi-final, inherently brings some pressure. Because we lost a group stage match, playing the next game naturally poses a slight problem. But slowly, our girls improved and tried hard to win. That's why, despite falling behind, they emerged victorious."

Looking ahead to the final, Abul remained confident in their preparation. "We have a vast understanding of India because we play them often and find it exciting. We played them in the group stage, which our girls lost. We won't call it a loss; rather, we learned from it. We will win the final against India."

"Anyone can win a final," Abul continued. "It is a 50-50 match because both are good teams. The team that remains more motivated... like our team is right now, we are on a winning streak and will try our utmost."