Nepal is out of the first round as two time champions Republic of Korea handed it a 2-0 defeat on Tuesday’s match of the AFC Under-17 Football Championship at Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore.
Coach Raju Shakya looks dejected at the post match conference after Nepal?s 0-2 loss to Korea.
Nepal, which lost its opening match against Japan 0-6, conceded one goal in each half and will return home empty handed.
Sun Soel Jae Mun scored first in the dying minute of the first half while Choi Jin Soo insured victory with an 81st minute header. Korea entered the second round with 6 points after two matches in Group ‘A’ while Japan and Singapore played to a 1-1 draw. The last team to book a quarterfinal spot will be decided after Thursday’s match against South Korea and Singapore.
Anil Tamang was near to goal in the early minute but couldn’t direct the ball into the net off a long range shot. Goalie Rupak Shrestha along with winger Anil Ojha, defenders Deepak Bhusal, Biraj Maharjan and skipper Bikash Singh Chhetri played very good for Nepal with Rupak saving more than seven dangerous shots of the Koreans.
In the second half, the Koreans played under pressure, but they doubled the tally in the wee hours in a counter attack. Korea scored their second goal in the 82nd minute after receiving a free-kick at the edge of the box where Choi Jin Soo headed a lofted free-kick from Kim Chun Soo and Nepalese goalie Rupak had no chance to stop it. Nepal had a very good chance to minimize the score line in the 90th minute but substitute Azad Pradhan’s volley was brilliantly saved by Korean keeper Kim Seung Gyu.
Nepal will take on Singapore on 7 September.