Kathmandu, August 25
Nepal will compete against Bhutan in the first semifinal of the ongoing SAFF U-20 Championship on home turf today. The match will kick off at 3 pm at the ANFA Complex ground in Satdobato.
Nepal, aiming to become champions on home soil, advanced to the semifinals as the winner of Group A, securing victories in both of their group matches. Nepal defeated Sri Lanka 1-0 in the first match and Bangladesh 2-1 in the second.
On the other hand, Bhutan reached the semifinals as the runner-up of Group B. Despite losing 1-0 to defending champions India in their first match, Bhutan secured their spot in the final four by defeating the Maldives 2-1 in their second match.
In the group stage, Nepal remained unbeaten, scoring three goals and conceding only one. Nirajan Dhami scored the decisive goal in Nepal’s victory against Sri Lanka in the first match, while Samir Tamang scored for Nepal in the second match against Bangladesh, with Nepal also benefiting from an own goal.
Bhutan scored two goals and conceded two across their two matches. Notably, Bhutan had a player sent off with a red card in both of their matches.
