Nepal enters to final of Bangabandhu Gold Cup; will meet Bahrain on Friday

Kathmandu / January 18: Nepal defeated Maldives by 4-1 to make its place in the final of Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Bangabandhu International Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday evening.

Nawayug Shrestha scored hat-trick in the match to ensure wide victory of the Nepali team. Shrestha scored his first goal on the 31st minute, and added two more in the second half. Bishal Rai was also on the score sheet for Nepal.

It was Nepal’s victory against the Maldives after 17 years since the Eighth South Asian Games in 1999 in Kathmandu. This was also the biggest-margin win over the Maldives.

Nepal will meet Bahrain, which beat the hosts Bangladesh 1-0, in the final scheduled for Friday. It is the first time Nepal would be playing in the final after the 1999 South Asian Games.

Meanwhile, Nepal also maintained its unbeaten streak to four matches in the tournament as it played goalless draw against Felda United (Malaysia) and host Bangladesh and beat Sri Lanka by 1-0 in the Group A matches.