SAFF U-19 kicking off in Kathmandu on Thursday

KATHMANDU: SAFF U-19 Championship is beginning in Kathmandu on Thursday. Six member nations of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) are participating in the championship. All the matches will be played at Dasharath Stadium.

Nepal is placed in Group ‘A’ along with the Maldives and Pakistan. Similarly, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh are in Group ‘B’. Sri Lanka is not participating in the regional age-group tournament as its suspension was lifted by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) only on August 27.

India will play against Bangladesh in the tournament opener at 1 pm on Thursday, while Nepal wil take on Pakistan in the second match of the day at 5:30 pm.

Nepal has set a target of winning the championship. “Our target is to win all the matches and lift the title,” Sunil Shrestha, coach of the Nepali Men’s U-19 team, said at a pre-match conference on Wednesday.

Shrestha, who was assistant coach of the team that won the inaugural SAFF U-19 Championship held in Kathmandu in 2015, said the confidence of Nepali players is high. “We are hopeful of getting positive results as we will also have the home advantage,” he added.

Nepal Squad:
Goalkeepers: Jiyarath Sheikh, Rubin Bogati, Amit Tamatta

Defenders: Semanta Thapa, Bishal Nepali, Bikram Tamang, Aayush Timsina, Ashwin Ghorasainee, Dipak Thapa Magar, Ninsang Parangden (Limbu), Gaurav Maharjan

Midfielders: Kushal Deuba, Lachhu Thapa, Prashant Laksam, Abinash Syangtan, Anil Bhomjan, Dhan Singh BK, Harish Raj Bhatta, Nelson Tamang

Forwards: Samir Tamang, Nirajan Dhami, Sujan Dangol, Siddhartha Adhikari