Kathmandu, July 15

Nepali youth team faced a 5-0 defeat against the United Arab Emirates in the Group D match of the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers at the Tahnon Bin Mohamed Stadium in Al Ain City today.

The hosts scored four goals in the first half and added one more after the interval. Ahmed Hussain scored a brace, while Mohamed Alakberi, Khalid Ahmed Rahim and Mohamed Rashid netted one each for the hosts.

Ahmed Hussain opened the scoring for the UAE in the eighth minute and doubled the advantage in the 20th minute before Mohamed Alakberi found the back of the nets in the 23rd minute. Khalid Ahmed Rahim made it 4-0 in the 33rd minute. After the break, Mohamed Rashid added another one in the 60th minute to seal the convincing victory over Nepal.

Nepal will play their second match against Uzbekistan on Monday and take on Lebanon in their last group match on July 19. The participating 39 teams have been divided into 10 groups and the winners of all the pools will earn berths in the finals along with five best runners-up.

The championship will be held in China next year.