KATHMANDU, Sept 17: All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on Tuesday declared a 23-member squad for upcoming SAFF U-18 Championship which is scheduled to begin on September 20 at Halchowk Stadium in Kathmandu.
Coach Chet Narayan Shrestha announced the team releasing goalkeeper Rohit Karki and midfielder Dipesh Gurung after an eight-day preparatory camp held in Pokhara.
According to team manager Rupesh Adhikari, captain and vice-captain are yet to be decided. "We will pick one from two or three options," Adhikari told Republica Online.
20-man squad for SAFF announced; Nirajan Khadka returns after 5...
A total of six teams from South Asia are participating in the tournament. Bhutan and the Maldives have been pitted into Group ‘A’ along with host Nepal while Group ‘B’ features Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
Nepal will play the tournament opener against the Maldives. Similarly, Bhutan will challenge Nepal in another group-stage match on September 22.
The two group-toppers will advance to the semi-finals. The final will be played on September 29.
FINAL SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Bishal Sunar, Surya Adhikari, Pujan Hona
Defenders: Bishal Basnet, Randip Poudel, Padam Bhattarai, Sujan Sharma, Nabin Gurung, Roshan Dong, Alik Rumba, Anjal Maharjan
Midfielders: Sishir Lekhi, Roshan Rana Magar, Akash Buda Magar, Jaya Gurung, Manish Thapa, Kushal Phuyal, Nitin Thapa
Forwards: Brijesh Chaudhary, Sachu Gurung, Kailash Lamichhane, Darshan Gurung, Manish Dangi
