Hosts Nepal brightened their chance to reach the semifinal of the six-nation First South Asian Federation Football (SAFF) Under-19 Championship beating Bhutan by 3-1 goals in the inaugural match at ANFA Complex, Saldobato in Lalitpur, Kathmandu on Thursday.
Captain Bimal Gharti Magar made the first hat-trick of the tournament scoring all three goals for the Himalayan nation in the 10th, 29th and 62nd minute while Sonam Togbay netted the lone goal for Bhutan in the 11th minute.
Bimal Gharti Magar also wasted a penalty and deprived him and the team from the 4th goal for unnecessary hurry in shooting, according to GoalNepal.com.
Afghanistan will play the Maldives in Group B opener on Friday at the same venue.
Bangladesh, which left Dhaka for Kathmandu on Tuesday with a hope to clinch the title, have been placed in Group A along with hosts Nepal and Bhutan while Group B team consists of India, Afghanistan and the Maldives.
Bangladesh will start their SAFF Under-19 campaign taking on Bhutan on Saturday (Aug 22) at 3:30 pm (Nepalese time) and will face hosts Nepal on Monday (Aug 24) at the same time.
On completion of the group matches, the two semifinal matches will be held on August 27 — the first semis at 12 noon while the 2nd one at 3:30 pm.
The final match will commence on Aug 29 at 3 pm.
