KATHMANDU, Dec 31: Nepal that failed to cross the group stage of ongoing SAFF Championship being held in Trivandrum, India, will take on Malaysia in its opener of the Bangabandhu Cup football slated to be held in Bangladesh on January 8 to 20.
Nepal, which lost both matches of the Group A in the SAFF, has been included in Group A along with Malaysia, Sri Lanka and host Bangladesh and will play Malaysia on January 9 at the Sham-Ul-Huda Stadium, Jessore. Similarly, Nepal which faced 1-0 defeat against Sri Lanka in the opener of SAFF will face same opponent on January 12. Nepal will lock horns against home team Bangladesh on January 14 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, in Dhaka in its last group match.
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The inaugural match will be between host Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on January 8. Similarly, Bangladesh U-23, Bahrain, Cambodia and Maldives are in Group B, and Bangladesh U-23 will take on Baharain on January 10 in its first match. Top two teams from both groups will secure semifinal spots. The semifinals matches will be played on January 17 and 18 and the title clash will be on January 20 at Bangabandhu National Stadium.
