football

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Nepali national women's football team star Sabitra Bhandari 'Samba' has signed with Wellington Phoenix Football Club in New Zealand. Samba has signed with the Australian A-League club Wellington for the 2025-26 season. Although Wellington is a New Zealand club, it has been playing in Australia's top division league. Samba decided to move to Australian league after spending two seasons with En Avant Guingamp in French first division. She had also played for Hapoel Ra'anana in Israel before that. She has also played in South Asia in India and the Maldives. Samba also captained the national team in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers held last month. However, Nepal did not qualify for the Asian Cup after losing on penalties in final match of the group against U...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Bangladesh won the SAFF Women's Championship for the second time in a row by beating Nepal 2-1 in the final held at Dasharath Stadium on Wednesday. Monika Chakma and Ritu Porna Chakma scored one goal each for Bangladesh. Nepal's Amisha Karki scored to tie the game at one point, but Nepal couldn't score again. This victory marked Bangladesh's second consecutive title, while it was Nepal's sixth loss in a final. The first half of the match was very competitive, with both teams unable to score. In the first 10 minutes, both teams hit the woodwork. Bangladesh scored first in the second half, but Nepal quickly equalized five minutes later. Towards the end, Bangladesh scored again and held on to win. In the first minute, Nepal almost had a disastrous st...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Nepal defeated Sri Lanka 6-0 in the final group stage match of the SAFF Women's Championship 2024, securing their spot as group winners. Rekha Poudel scored 2 goals, while Sabitra Bhandari Samba, Rashmi Kumari Ghising, Sabita Rana Magar, and Amisha Karki each contributed 1 goal. With this victory, Nepal finished with the same score of 7 points as Bhutan, but Nepal won the group thanks to a better goal difference. The semi-finals will take place on Sunday, with the first match between Bangladesh and Bhutan at 1:30 PM, followed by the second semi-final featuring Nepal and India at 6:30 PM. Nepal quickly established control by scoring 4 goals in the first half, and they added a fifth goal shortly after halftime. Although they had several chances t...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Bhutan have booked a place in the semifinal of SAFF Women's Championshp 2024 after registering their best win over Maldives in a Group B match of the SAFF Women's Championship 2024. Free scoring Bhutan romped on to a 13-0 win over Maldives to make it two wins in a row. At halftime, Bhutan was leading 6-0. Deki Lhazom scored 5 goals for Bhutan, while Pema Choden and Deki Yangdon each scored 2 goals. Namgyal Dema, Tshering Lhaden, and Sonam Choden each contributed 1 goal. With this win, Bhutan is top of the group with 7 points from 3 matches and a goal difference of +16. Nepal has 4 points from 2 matches, and Sri Lanka has 3 points from 2 matches. For Nepal to win the group, they need to beat Sri Lanka by at least 5 goals and score a total of at lea...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Defending champion Bangladesh have beaten India 3-1 in the final group stage match of SAFF Women's Championship 2024. The win meant Bangladesh has reached the semi-finals as the top team in Group A. This was Bangladesh's first win of the tournament, giving them 4 points from 2 matches. India finished second in the group with 3 points, while Pakistan ended up with 1 point and was eliminated from the group stage. All the goals of the match were scored in the first half. Tohura Khatun and Afida Khandakar each scored twice for Bangladesh, while Bala Devi scored for India before halftime. Bangladesh took advantage early in the game but missed some chances before goalkeeping error from India helped them into the lead. Their first goal came in the 18th m...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Bhutan held Nepal to a goalless draw in the Group B match of the SAFF Women's Championship 2024 at Dasharath Stadium. This is the first time Nepal has ever tied a match in SAFF Championship history. In a chilly evening at the center of capital city, Nepal controlled the game but could not find the back of the net. Bhutan's goalkeeper, Sangita Monger, and their defense successfully blocked Nepal's attempts throughout the match, especially in the second half after Nepal made attacking changes at the break. In their fifth SAFF meeting, this is the first time Nepal failed to score against Bhutan. It is also Nepal’s first group-stage match in SAFF where they didn’t score a goal, after scoring in every previous group stage match. Nepal had several chanc...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Sri Lanka defeated Maldives 1-0 in their Group B match at Dasharath Stadium on Friday. Imesha Warnakalasuriya scored the only goal in the first half, giving Sri Lanka 3 points. Nepal and Bhutan will face off in the same group later today at 5:30 PM. Sri Lanka missed an early chance to score in the 7th minute when Tharmika Siwaneswaran’s shot hit the post after miscommunication between the Maldives' goalkeeper and defense. In the 18th minute, Imesha scored with a header after a cross from Pravina Perera, putting Sri Lanka ahead. Imesha had two more chances in the 33rd minute but was stopped twice by Maldives' goalkeeper Aminath Leeza. Leeza also blocked a powerful shot by Tharmika in the 37th minute. Sri Lanka came close again early in the se...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu India started strong with a 5-2 victory over Pakistan in their first match of the SAFF Women's Championship at Dasharath Stadium, earning 3 important points. India took an early lead, going up 4-0 within the first half. However, Pakistan fought back, scoring a penalty in injury time of the first half and adding another goal early in the second half. Despite creating constant pressure in India's box, Pakistan couldn’t make most of those chances. India's first goal came in the 5th minute when Grace Dangmei scored from outside the penalty area, beating the goalkeeper Nisha Ashraf. In the 17th minute, Manisha doubled the lead with a smooth finish after exchanging passes with Bala Devi. India added two more goals in the first half. Bala Devi scored in ...