By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal’s 23-man final squad for the SAFF U-19 Championship has been finalized. ANFA announced the final squad for the tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
Head coach Sunil Shrestha left out Nishant Tamang and Niraj Karki from the 25-man squad that was in the closed camp for the past week. These two players have been kept as standby players, according to ANFA. Goalkeeper Jiyarat Sheikh will captain the Nepali side.
Nepal are Group ‘A’ alongside Maldives and Pakistan, while Group ‘B’ consists of India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Nepal will take on tournament debutants Pakistan in their first match on September 21 in an evening encounter.
Defending champions India and Bangladesh will open proceedings on the day with a 1:30 PM kickoff at the Dasharath Stadium. Bhutan, together with India and Bangladesh make up the Group ‘B’. The top two teams from both groups will contest the semifinals.
The past four editions of the tournament have gone to Nepal and India. Both Nepal and India have previously clinched the SAFF U19 Championship twice. Nepal secured the title in 2015 and 2017, while India emerged victorious in 2019 and 2022.
Nepal Squad:
Goalkeepers: Jiyarath Sheikh, Rubin Bogati, Amit Tamatta
Defenders: Semanta Thapa, Bishal Nepali, Bikram Tamang, Aayush Timsina, Ashwin Ghorasainee, Dipak Thapa Magar, Ninsang Parangden (Limbu), Gaurav Maharjan
Midfielders: Kushal Deuba, Lachhu Thapa, Prashant Laksam, Abinash Syangtan, Anil Bhomjan, Dhan Singh BK, Harish Raj Bhatta, Nelson Tamang
Forwards: Samir Tamang, Nirajan Dhami, Sujan Dangol, Siddhartha Adhikari
