KATHMANDU: Nepal romped to 1-0 victory against Bangladesh and advanced into the final of men's football during the13th South Asian Games held in Kathmandu, on Sunday.

Sunil Bal's solitary strike in the 11th minute was enough from Nepal to see Bangladesh off in the crucial fixture at the full house Dashrath Stadium in the capital today.

Bal started the move and finished it smartly after stand-in skipper Sujal Shrestha supplied a weighted cut-back pass in the area. Playing in the presence of home supporters, Bal composed himself and sidefooted the ball into the far post and beyond the reach of diving Bangladeshi goalie.

Both the teams created numerous opportunities in the second half but to no avail.

During the closing stages, tempers flyered from both the side. Bangladesh searching for an equaliser suffered a blow after their talismanic skipper Jamal Phuyan was shown a red card for two bookable offences in the dying minutes of added minutes of the second half.

Earlier, Nepal had lost to Bangladesh in the final of the 8th edition of the SAFF games held in Kathmandu, in 1999.

With this hard-fought victory, Nepal will lock their horns against Bhutan in the title showdown at the Dasrath Stadium in Kathmandu, on Tuesday.