KATHMANDU, Feb 26: Hosts Nepal suffered a 2-0 defeat against Myanmar in the title match of the Four Nations International Women's Championship on Wednesday.
A total of 15,568 people attended the match held at the Dashrath Stadium in Tripureshwar, which marked the 13th time the Nepali team went down in the final.
The Nepali women’s national team has lost its third international final in a year. Nepal lost the West Asian Football Confederation (WAFC) Championship final held in Saudi Arabia in February 2024 and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship title match held at home in September.
Although the first half of the match held at the fully-packed stadium ended in a goalless draw, Myanmar managed to score two goals in quick succession in the second half. The Nepali team produced two great opportunities to take the lead in the first half but both the attempts went astray.
The Nepali fans were vocal in the first half of the match, encouraging the team to push forward and shoot the ball. The fans staged multiple rounds of Mexican waves as the Nepali team dominated the half.
However, the stadium was silenced in the 62nd minute of the game as Myanmar took the lead over hosts Nepal, and added another goal within two minutes.
Yupa Khaing’s lofted cross from a tight angle inside the penalty area on the left side floated into the net in the 62nd minute, giving Myanmar the lead.
Nepal conceded its second goal within two minutes. Myanmar’s Captain Win Theingi Tun doubled Myanmar's lead after Nepal’s goalkeeper Anjana initially saved a close range shot created by a through pass from the Myanmar team but dropped the ball.
The Nepali team attempted to score a consolation goal throughout the rest of the match, however their attempts were foiled by the Myanmar defense. A shot from substitute Rashmi Kumari Ghising, who replaced winger Rekha Poudel in the 61st minute, was saved by the Myanmar goalkeeper.
Earlier, the Nepali women could not find a breakthrough despite creating multiple chances in the first half of the match.
The first great attempt was created in the 34th minute when Rekha Poudel's through ball was shot from a difficult angle by Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’, saved by a barrage of Myanmar players. The ricocheted ball was headed goalwards by Samba, before being blocked again. The shots were followed by a wild roar from the Nepali fans.
In the 43rd minute, a high cross from Samba was headed from the far post. But the shot and the follow-up shots were blocked by Myanmar defenders.
Nepal and Myanmar reached the final by securing the top two places in the league stage of the four-nation championship, which also included Lebanon and Kyrgyzstan. Hosts Nepal had earlier played a 2-2 draw against Myanmar in the final game of the league stage.