Nepal suffers 3-1 defeat to Kuwait in SAFF Championship opener

KATHMANDU: In the opening match of the current SAFF Championship football tournament in India, Nepal was defeated 3-1 by Kuwait. The match took place on Wednesday at Sri Kanti Rao Stadium in Bangalore.

Kuwait’s captain, Khalid Ajab, along with Shabib Al Khaldi and Mohammad Abdullah, each scored one goal to secure the victory for Kuwait. It was Kuwait’s first time participating in the SAFF Championship.

Anjan Bista managed to score the lone goal for Nepal. Kuwait’s captain, Khalid, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a header, taking an early lead for his team. The goal came from a corner kick delivered by Fawaz Al Otaibi, which the Nepali defender failed to clear.

In the 42nd minute of the game, Shabaib scored to give Kuwait a 2-0 lead. Then, in the 65th minute, Mohammad scored a penalty, extending Kuwait’s lead to 3-0. The penalty was awarded after Nepal’s defender, Ananta Tamang, was handballed inside the penalty box.

In the 68th minute, Anjan scored for Nepal, reducing the deficit to 3-1. This goal marked Anjan’s 12th international goal for Nepal. However, despite the goal, Nepal ultimately lost the match with a score of 3-1.

With this defeat, Nepal, a former runner-up, has started the tournament with a loss. On the other hand, Kuwait, which is in Group A, secured 3 points from their first match.

8 nations are participating in this edition of SAFF.

Along with Nepal, hosts India, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Maldives will participate in this edition of the championship. Kuwait and Lebanon are the invited teams in this edition.

Now Nepal will play host India in the second match on Saturday. Similarly, in the third and final match of the group stage, they will play against Pakistan on Ashar 12 (June 27).