KATHMANDU: Eleven players have been dropped from the U-20 national football team in the ongoing closed training program.

According to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), 11 out of 41 players called by head coach Meghraj KC have been dropped. The team is in closed training for the SAAF U-20 tournament in India and the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Bahrain.

Nepal will play its first match against the Maldives in the group stage of the SAAF U-20 Championship on July 25. In the second match, they will compete with Sri Lanka on July 27. In the third match, they will face India on July 31. In the fourth match, Nepal and Bangladesh will face each other on August 2.

Similarly, Nepal will play its first match against Bhutan under the AFC selection on September 10. The second match will be played against Qatar on September 12 and the third match will be played against Bahrain on September 14. In the fourth match, Nepal will face Bangladesh on September 18.

30 players in closed training

Goalkeepers: Ishwar Gurung, Unesh Chaudhary, Ziarath Sheikh

Defenders: Saurabh Karki, Akib Haq, Amar Shrestha, Sonit Dahal, Ayush Shrestha, Ajay Chaudhary, Sumit Shrestha, Ashwin Bhattarai, Srijan Dhani, Roshan Thapa, Raj Thokar

Midfielders: Abhishek Waiba, Dipesh Gurung, Ashish Rai, Kshitij Bhandari, Sandeep Karki, Janmejay Dhami, Mahit Gurung, Kritish Ratna Chinju, Pritam Syangtan, Sugam Suwal, Manajna Nakarmi, Ayush Ghalan

Forwards: Dipesh Rai, Niranjan Malla, Rohit Subba, Rohan Khadgi