Holders Nepal crash out early
Holders Nepal crash out early
Published: 10:15 am Sep 25, 2019
Kathmandu, September 24 Defending champions Nepal crashed out of the SAFF U-18 Championship after Bhutan and Maldives played a goalless draw here at the Nepal APF Club grounds today. The two-time winners Nepal earned just one point from two matches in Group A, while Bhutan finished at the top of the table with four points. Maldives were runners-up in the group with two points. Nepal played a 1-1 draw against Maldives in the inaugural match on September 20, while they faced a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bhutan two days later. Nepal had a slim chance of making it to the semi-finals as Bhutan needed to beat Maldives with four or more goal-margin. But the two teams settled for a 0-0 draw in the last league round match. In Group B, Bangladesh have already made it to the semi-finals with four points. Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in their first match and played a goalless draw against India on Monday. The last match of the league round between India and Sri Lanka, slated for Wednesday will decide the pool winners and the second team for the semi-finals.