KATHMANDU: Nepal have defeated Bangladesh 4-1 in their penultimate match of the SAFF U15 Championship 2019 at the Kalyani Stadium in West Bengal, India on Tuesday.
Nepal’s Krishna Yadav scored two goals in the match while Sugan Jimi and Pradeep Lamsal contributed a goal in the match.
Earlier, Bangladesh had thrashed Bhutan 6-2 in their opening match before once again pummelling Sri Lanka 7-1 in their second game. Meanwhile, Nepal had suffered a 5-0 defeat to hosts India in their opener before recording a 2-0 win over Sri Lanka.
This is the sixth edition of the U-15 championship conducted by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and will be completed by five national teams from August 21 to 31.
The five teams — hosts India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan — will play each other in the round-robin format in the group stages of the tournament before the top two teams qualify for the final to be played on August 31.
Bangladesh are the defending champions of the tournament having won the trophy by defeating Pakistan on penalties after the score remained 1-1 at the end of regulation time at the ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Nepal last year. 2018 finalists Pakistan are not taking part in this year’s competition.
The competition began as the SAFF U16 Championship in 2011 but was officially renamed SAFF U15 Championship in 2017. India and Bangladesh are the most successful sides in the tournament having won the title twice each while Pakistan won the inaugural edition.
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