KATHMANDU, JULY 31

Nepali youth football team faced an 8-0 defeat against home side India in the third match of the SAFF U-20 Championship at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar today.

Nepal, who had recorded straight victories against Maldives and Sri Lanka without conceding a goal, suffered the biggest defeat in terms of margin in the age-group tournament organised by South Asian Football Federation. The hosts took 1-0 lead in the first half before scoring seven goals after the break to register their second win in the tournament.

Bangladesh are at the top of the five-team table with maximum nine points, while India climbed to second with six points.

Nepal, who also have six points from three matches, dropped to third position on inferior goal difference.

Maldives and Sri Lanka, who earned one point each, are out of the race to final. Top two teams after round robin league will make it to final.

Nepal's fate will now depend on the final round results. Nepal will face Bangladesh in the fourth and final match of the league round on Tuesday, while India will take on Maldives. Nepal need to beat Bangladesh heavily to confirm their berth in the final. They can advance to the final with a win over Bangladesh if Maldives beat or stop India in the last match.

On Sunday, India took the lead in the 32nd minute when Nepal skipper Ishwor Gurung spilled the ball while collecting a cross from the left wing and Taison Singh Loitongbam made no mistake in heading home from close.

The hosts scored twice in the space of two minutes to make it 3-0.

Parthib Sundar Gogoi doubled the tally with a powerful strike from inside the box in the 52nd minute before he netted his second goal of the match when he beat the offside trap and chipped over goalkeeper Gurung a minute later.

Loitongbam scored his personal second goal in the 62nd minute before India earned a penalty in the 71st minute and Himanshu Jangra converted from the spot. Substitutes Tankadhar Bag, Gurkirat Singh and Shubho Paul scored one each goal in the last 12 minutes to seal the thrashing victory for the home team. Bag netted his side's sixth goal in the 78th minute, while Singh scored in the 89th minute and Paul completed the scoring in the injury time.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.