18 Chait, Kathmandu. Nepal has been eliminated from the semi-finals of the SAFF U-20 Championship football.

Nepal was shocked again by losing 1-0 to Bangladesh in the semi-final held on Wednesday. Nepal was defeated by Bangladesh in the semi-final of the previous edition as well.

MD Manik’s goal in the 10th minute was decisive in Bangladesh’s victory in the semi-finals. Nepal created scoring opportunities but could not convert.

Bangladesh will now compete against the winner between India and Bhutan for the title. The match between India and Bhutan is going to take place tonight.

In the age group, Nepal has won two titles and Bangladesh once each. But in the recent editions, Bangladesh became a challenge for Nepal.

In the SAFF U-20 held in Nepal in 2024, Bangladesh won the title by defeating Nepal in the final. At that time, Nepal defeated Bangladesh in the group stage, but Nepal could not repeat the same result in the final.

This time, before going to Maldives, the head coach of Nepal U-20 team, Urjan Shrestha, also said that along with the four-time champion India, Bangladesh is a tough opponent.

Bangladesh once again became an obstacle in Nepal’s journey to Maldives with the goal of winning the title.

In this age group, Nepal has not been able to win the title after becoming the champion in the first two editions.

After that, India won the title three times in a row from 2019 to 2023 and won the title in 2024. India became the champion again in 2025 when Bangladesh won.

Nepal, who reached the semi-finals as the runner-up of the 2025 group, failed to reach the finals as they lost 2-1 to Bangladesh in the semi-finals.