A suicidal goal by Mohammad Emon in the dying moment enabled hosts Nepal to earn a hard-fought 2-1 goals victory over Bangladesh in the last group A match of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-19 Championship at the ANFA Complex in Kathmandu on Monday.
With the day’s feat, Nepal emerged group champion to reach the semifinal with all-win record and will play the first semifinal on Thursday at 12 noon while Bangladesh, despite the day’s shocking defeat, will play the 2nd semifinal on the same day at 3:30 pm.
The final match will be held on Saturday (August 29) at 3pm.
In the day’s group match, striker Rohit Sharma put Bangladesh ahead in the 11th minute taking the advantage of Nepalese defence lapse (1-0).
Anjan Bista leveled the margin for Nepal in the 18th minute from a spot kick (1-1).
Defender Mohammad Emon made the major damage for Bangladesh in the added time (94th minute) sending the ball into his own net while trying to foil an attempt of Ananta Tamang (2-1).
Earlier, Nepal sealed their semifinal berth crushing all losers Bhutan U-19 side by 3-1 goals while Bangladesh booked a seat for the semis beating Bhutan U-19 side by 2-0 goals in Group A matches.
In Group matches, Afghanistan defeated the Maldives by 3-1 goals while they lost to India 0-2 in their Group-B matches.
Bangladesh U-19 Team: Anisur Rahman, Masuk Miah Jony (captain), Rahmat Miah, Mohammad Emon, Tutul Hossain, Mohammad Salahuddin, Rohit Sarkar, Shahriar Bappy, Mannaf Rabby, Biplo Ahmed and Mohammad Ibrahim.
