In the finals of the SAFF group stage matches, Nepali football team thrashed Bangladeshi team for a sounding victory that confirmed their place in semi-finals of the SAFF Championship.

The match held in Bangabandhu National Stadium of Dhaka on September 08, 2018 saw Nepal’s win over Bangladesh for a 2-0 score.

Though the Bangladeshi team made a good start that continued till 30^th minute, it was Nepali mid-fielder Bimal Gharti Magar and Nawayug Shrestha who changed the game later and the Nepal’s position in the tournament all together.

Magar hit the first goal at 33^rd minute giving a boost to Nepal, and Shrestha balanced it at the end hitting another at 90^th minute, driving the team to victory.

It was a hard game for us. Playing against the home team is always difficult but we stuck to the plan and emerged successfully. The morale of the players was high ever since our win against Bhutan. This win will definitely boost our spirits to go further. – Kiran Shrestha, Assistant Head Coach of Nepali team.

The first goal was a mistake by the goalkeeper and it happens in football. I am extremely proud of the boys. We were caught in the end, but we had to go forward because we had to stay in the competition. Two wins and beating Pakistan was a highlight for us. If the crowd feels disappointed, then I feel sorry for the boys because the effort they have put in doesn’t deserve that. – Jamie Day, Bangladesh Head Coach

Prior to this, Nepal had to beat Bhutan to qualify for this match that earned it chance to enter semi-finals.

Now, Nepal is at the top-2 in the Group after Pakistan and will next play runners-up of Group B on September 12, 2018. Group B already has India, Sri Lanka and Maldives teams.

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In the run-up to the AFC U-23 Qualifiers 2018, the Nepal U-23 football team defeated the team from Bangladesh by a 1-0 margin in a friendly encounter held at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato. The only goal of the match was scored in the 20^th minute by the skipper Bimal Gharti Magar.

A minor injury forced Gharti Magar out of the match in the 33^rd minute. Following his exit, Nepal could not capitalize on a few scoring opportunities in the remaining period and increase the tally.

Despite this, Nepali head coach Raju Kaji Shakya was satisfied with the performance of his players. In a post-match conference, he said that the team struggled to adopt to the 4-5-1 playing system as it was relatively new to them and hence could not dominate the opposition. Gharti Magar said that the team would have benefited greatly if more friendly matches had been organized against stronger teams.

The Nepali team is now flying to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday for the qualifiers that are scheduled from July 15-19.

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