Nepal to meet Bhutan in SAFF U-20 semis

KATHMANDU: Nepal will face Bhutan in the first semifinal of the 2024 SAFF U-20 Championship.

India defeated the Maldives 1-0 in its final group stage match at the ANFA Complex on Friday to confirm that it progresses to the semifinal as the winner of Group ‘B’. The Maldives’ loss meant Bhutan entered the semifinal as the runners-up of the group.

India needed at least a draw to progress to the semifinal. Manglenthang Kipgen scored in the injury time to give all three points for India.

India will meet Group ‘A’ runners-up Bangladesh in the semifinals.

Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which lost both their group-stage matches, have exited the tournament pointless.

Nepal will meet Bhutan in the first semifinal on Sunday, while India takes on Bangladesh in the second semifinal on Monday.

The final will be played on August 28.

India is the most successful side in the SAFF U-20 winning the title in the last three editions. Nepal won the first two editions in 2015 and 2017. The championship was hosted as a U-18 category in 2017 and 2019, U-19 in 2015 and 2023 and U-20 in 2022.