THIMPHU, Aug 7: Nepal’s U-20 women’s national football team delivered a weak performance in their opening match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, settling for a 1-1 draw against hosts Bhutan.
With hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup, the Nepali team traveled to Bhutan for a strong start. However, in their Group A opener at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu on Wednesday, Nepal ended up sharing points due to a lackluster performance.
Just last month, Nepal had convincingly defeated Bhutan twice in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-20 Women’s Championship—winning 6-1 and 8-0. Yet, less than a month later, the team’s performance fell far short of expectations. In those two previous encounters, Nepal had scored a total of 14 goals against Bhutan.
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This time, however, the team failed to find rhythm or cohesion. Nepal struggled with ball possession, created very few meaningful attacks, and appeared desperate in their attempts to score—often firing weak shots from long range. Defensively, the team also made costly mistakes.
Nepal had taken an early lead just 38 seconds into the match, thanks to attacking midfielder Senu Pariyar. A cross from the left by Sukriya Miya found an unmarked Senu inside the box, who capitalized with a composed finish, slotting the ball past Bhutanese goalkeeper Pema Yangzom.
But Bhutan quickly responded, capitalizing on Nepal’s defensive errors. In the 18th minute, Kelden Wangmo equalized after receiving a pass from Namtsel Wangjom. She beat right-back Simran Rai and fired past advancing goalkeeper Lila Joshi.
The score remained 1-1 at halftime, and despite some promising chances created by Bhutan in the second half, neither side could find the winner. Nepal, desperate to score, resorted to long-range shots, most of which lacked power and direction.
Group A includes Bhutan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and three-time champions North Korea, who are also past winners of both the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup and the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The qualifiers feature 32 teams divided into eight groups.
After the single round-robin format, only the team finishing at the top of each group will qualify for the 12th edition of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup. In addition, the three best second-placed teams across all groups will also advance to the tournament in Thailand. However, Nepal’s hopes of qualification have taken a hit following their draw against low-ranked Bhutan.