Nepal suffered a 1-0 loss to India in their second match of the championship played at the Bangabandu Stadium, Dhaka. Earlier, Nepal had played a 1-1 draw with the defending champions, the Maldives, in their first match of the tournament.
Despite keeping the opponents under control, Nepal faced defeat after they failed to utilize scoring chances. The only goal from Jeevan Singh in the 18th minute sealed victory for India.
The powerful free-kick of Balwant Singh proved to be the turning point in the match when Jeevan Singh netted the ball that was initially pushed away by Nepali custodian Bikash Malla, after Bijay Gurung"s attempt to clear the ball from the danger zone failed. India were awarded with free kick after Biraj Maharjan played a foul.
With the win, India have secured their place in the semifinals. India have six points from two matches while Nepal have only one point so far. The Maldives, are in the second spot of the points table with four points. Afghanistan are yet to open their account in the points table. On Monday, the Maldives beat Afghanistan 3-1 in the first match of the day.
Indian coach Sukbinder Singh said his team won the match despite their bad performance. “But what is important is the result. I am happy with the result. Our goalkeeper performed well as he did not give any chance for Nepal,” Singh said.
Earlier, in the 10th minute Jumanu Rai missed a chance while. Anil Gurung missed four chances and Santosh Shaukhala and Yogesh Shrestha, too, wasted one good chance each.
Nepali coach Krishna Thapa said the team faced defeat after the players failed to utilize scoring chances. “I am less hopeful of a win over Afganisthan. Even if we beat Afghanistan, the result of the match between India and the Maldives will decide our chance to advance into the semifinals. Beside, they may play politics in the last match,” Thapa said adding, “We displayed good footballing but luck did not favor us.”
Earlier, the Maldives came from a goal deficit to beat Afghanistan 3-1. Afghanistan, which took 1-0 lead until the first half through Sayad Basir Ajimi"s goal, failed to defend their lead.
The Maldives leveled the score in 52nd minute through Ahamed Torik and the AFC Player of the Year 2008 nominee Ashfaq Ali scored in the 72nd and 89th minutes, respectively, to seal their victory.
Nepali line-up
Bikash Malla (goalkeeper), Sagar Thapa (captain), Anjan KC, Rohit Chand, Biraj Mahrjan, Bijay Gurung (Yogesh Shrestha 31 minute), Raju Tamang, Sandeep Rai (Santosh Shaukhala 61 minute), Chetan Ghimire, Anil Gurung, Jumanu Rai.
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