Nepal beat Bangladesh 2-1 in the final of the Three Nations Cup 2021 held in Kathmandu today.
In the first half, Sanjog Rai scored the first goal for Nepal in the 18th minute while Bishal Rai added another goal at the 42nd minute in the match played at Dasharath Stadium. Bangladesh also turned the corner kick opportunity into a goal in the 82nd minute just after the Bangladesh team substituted a player. Mahabur Rahman headed the corner-kick the ball into the post.
Nepal held on to its lead for a memorable win before the home crowd, a tournament win after 37 years to remember on a hazy day before floodlights in the recently renovated Dasarath Stadium in Tripureswar, Kathmandu.
Bangladesh had entered the final after beating Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the first match while Nepal drew against Kyrgyzstan in the international association football tournament organised by the All Nepal Football Association. Nepal earned two points by drawing with Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh respectively from two matches while Kyrgyzstan had one from two matches, one losing to Bangladesh and another drawing to Nepal. Likewise, Bangladesh earned four points to enter the final.
In the previous match between Nepal and Bangladesh on Saturday, Nepal could not score any goal despite a good possession.
It was sweet revenge for the Nepali national team that had lost to the same team in Dhaka, Bangladesh during a friendly match recently. Nepal had lost 2-0 in the first match and drew 0-0 in the second match in the two-match friendly series.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli presented prizes and certificates to the winner and runner-up team. Along with the winner's cup, Nepal bagged a cash prize of US Dollar 5,000 while Bangladesh won 3,000 USD. Nepali team's Sanjog Rai clinched the 'Man of the Match' title.
The PM also witnessed the match after initiating the match by handing over the match ball to the referee. Also present to witness the match were Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, UML leader Subas Chandra Nembang, Minister for Youth and Sports Dawa Lama Tamang, National Sports Council member-secretary Ramesh Kumar Silwal among others.
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