KATHMANDU, AUGUST 2

Nepali youth football team crashed out of the SAFF U-20 Championship despite playing a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in the fourth and final match of the league round at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India today.

Nepal, who recorded victories over Maldives and Sri Lanka before facing a loss against India in the first three matches, needed a huge win against Bangladesh. But they were able to earn a point to finish third with seven points in the five-team competition.

Bangladesh - who accumulated 10 points from four matches - and hosts India - who defeated Maldives 1-0 in the last match today to finish second with nine points - advanced to the final.

Maldives (two) and Sri Lanka (one) had already been eliminated. The final is slated for Friday.

After a goalless first half, Bangladesh took the lead in the 63rd minute. Md Piash Ahmmed Nova broke the deadlock with a fine shot from inside the box after being fed by Md Rafiqul Khan, who made an excellent run with the ball following a misspass from a Nepali defender.

Nepal, however, levelled the scores five minutes later when substitute Niranjan Malla found the back of the nets with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.

The match saw an ugly scene moments after the break when players from both sides were engaged in a scuffle which was started by Nepal skipper Ayush Ghalan near the touch line. Bangladesh skipper Sahidul Islam earned his second yellow card of the match, while Nepal's Dipesh Gurung saw a direct red. Nepal's substitute player Rohit Subba, who entered the pitch from the bench, also got a red card.

Nepal assistant coach Bal Gopal Sahukhala said the players failed to recover from the heavy defeat (8-0) against India. 'The players were under pressure to register a huge victory but they could not play their natural game due to the hangover of the India match,' said Sahukhala. 'We are happy with the overall performance of the team. We were in strong position after winning first two matches. This is a youth team and the players need experience. The team has shown a great potential for future,' he added.

Regarding the scuffle and expulsion of the players, Sahukhala said the incident was unwanted. 'It was not a good one. It should not have reached to that stage. They players were frustrated as they were not able to score in a match that needed a huge victory. The boys should have controlled themselves. They need to be taught to handle such situations. We will try our best not to repeat those incidents in future,' he said.

In the late kick off, India defeated Maldives 1-0 on a late goal from Gurkirat Singh.

At a time when the match was heading towards a draw, Singh produced the moment of brilliance in the 90th minute.

He buried the ball into the goal from inside the box capitalising on a poor clearance from Maldives defenders.

India's Parthiv Sundar Gogoi will miss the final after he collected a red card in the injury time. Nepali referee Prajwal Chhetry showed yellow card to Gogoi for wasting time and he earned a direct red after the player used foul language towards the referee.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 3, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.