KATHMANDU: Two years ago, it was a golden opportunity for Urjan Shrestha, head coach of the Nepal youth team, to defeat Bangladesh on home soil and win the SAFF U-20 Championship after seven years.

But in the final, Bangladesh avenged their group stage defeat by pulling off an impressive 4-1 victory against Nepal. With this result, Shrestha’s dream of winning the title for Nepal remained unfulfilled, while Bangladesh achieved a historic first.

Last year, under his coaching, the U-19 team was again defeated by Bangladesh by 2-1. At that point, the Nepali youth team could not advance beyond the semifinal. The consecutive failures have shaken Urjan. Having done self-reflection from that bitter experience in two tournaments, he is now flying to the capital Malé to participate in the U-20 SAFF Championship to be held in Maldives from March 23 to April 3.

In the U-20 SAFF Championship, Nepal has been placed in Group ‘A’. This group also includes hosts Maldives along with Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The other Group ‘B’ contains India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Nepal has been participating in the Youth-20 Championship since the 2015 edition. In the first edition, in which most of ANFA Academy’s talented players participated, Nepal delivered an impressive performance and won the title.

“There is a lot of pressure in age-group football. We have been eliminated by losing important matches against teams we had previously beaten. This time, we will win the title without any shortcomings,” Urjan claims.

Nepal has been participating in the Youth-20 Championship since the 2015 edition. In the first edition, in which most of ANFA Academy’s talented players participated, Nepal delivered an impressive performance and won the title. The team captained by Bimal Gharti Magar defeated India 5-4 on penalties in the final to bring the title home.

Two years later, in the second edition held in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, despite a 1-0 loss to host Bhutan in the first match, Nepal went on to defeat Maldives (2-0), Bangladesh (2-1), and India (2-0) to win the title. Since then, Nepal has rarely had the chance to reach the final of the tournament, and this has continued since Urjan took charge of the team in 2024.

How Nepal’s defensive line performs against Bhutan, which has been growing stronger in age-group football alongside India and Bangladesh in recent times, will determine the result of the match.

“We keep losing despite playing well. Not just in SAFF U-20, but in U-17 too we had beaten India in the group stage. But we ended up losing again in the final,” he says.

A strong squad

Lachhu Thapa is the Nepal youth team’s most dependable defender. Since leading Nepal to the SAFF U-17 final in 2022, coach Urjan has included Lachhu in the squad for almost every tournament. However, Lachhu has refused to travel to Maldives this time after his elder brother Ram, who plays alongside him, decided to emigrate to Australia.

Coach Urjan Shrestha (first from left) and captain Dharbendra Kunwar (third from left). Photo: Nitesh Oli

How Nepal’s defensive line performs against Bhutan, which has been growing stronger in age-group football alongside India and Bangladesh in recent times, will determine the result of the match. But captain Dharbendra Kunwar says it won’t make much difference since the Nepali squad remains strong overall.

“13 of us played in the U-19 Championship in India last year, and 16 have already played in the national league,” he says.

Dharbendra himself has already played in the last three age-group tournaments under coach Urjan’s supervision. He was part of the Nepali team when it reached the final of the SAFF U-17 Championship 2022 and the SAFF U-20 Championship 2024. He was also on the team when Nepal reached the semifinal of the SAFF U-19 Championship held in India last year.

Center forward Alik Shrestha says the team is taking the field this time with the goal of winning the title after nine years, backed by a well-balanced squad.

From that squad, goalkeeper Bhakta Bahadur Pariyar along with Bijayi Urau, Bigyan Khadka, Pawan Pakhrin, Sujan Dangol, Prashant Moktan, and others have returned. He says playing alongside regular teammates again will make things even more comfortable. “I wasn’t getting chances before. This time I have the responsibility of captaincy. So the challenge is to bring good results,” he says.

Nepal will play their first match against Bhutan on March 23. Bhutan has been a headache for Nepal in recent times. In their meeting two years ago on home soil, Bhutan held Nepal to a 1-1 draw, though Bhutan fell short 4-1 in the penalty shootout. Comparatively, Maldives and Sri Lanka are considered easier opponents for Nepal. So barring unexpected results, Nepal’s chances of reaching the semifinal are strong.

The semifinal contenders from the other group are former champions India and runners-up Bangladesh. So even if Nepal reach the semifinal, they will have to overcome the challenge of either four-time champions India or one-time champions Bangladesh to reach the final.

Center forward Alik Shrestha says the team is taking the field this time with the goal of winning the title after nine years, backed by a well-balanced squad. “We have prioritized teamwork over individual performance. The result should be good,” he says.