Nepal beat Bhutan Monday 2-0 to win its first league match of the current South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship in Dhaka to gain three points.
Nepal will now meet Maldives in the third and last league match Wednesday after a rest day Tuesday. Nepal lost to host Bangladesh 1-0 in its first league match Saturday.
Nepal should have beaten Bhutan by a big margin to be absolutely sure of a place in the knockout phase of the eight-nation tournament.
Star striker Hari Khadka did not play in Monday’s match because of illness. Niranjan Rayamajhi and Kumar Thapa scored the goals.