Thinley Namgay  

The under (U)-20 men’s national football team will play their last game of the ongoing Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Asian Cup Qualifiers against the host Bahrain at the Sheikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium today.

So far in the tournament, Bhutan could only win against Nepal 2-0

Coach Ngawang Jampel said that Bahrain is one of the competent teams but football is unpredictable.

He said that there is a possibility for Bhutan to play in the main tournament next year if the team wins against Bahrain or if Nepal draws or wins from Bangladesh.




Ngawang Jampel said that only 10 group winners and five best teams in the qualifiers will get a chance to play at the 41st edition of the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan from March 1 to 18.

Bhutan is placed in group B with Qatar, Bahrain, Nepal and Bangladesh.

As of yesterday, Qatar is leading the group with six points, followed by Bangladesh and Bahrain with four points each.

On September 14, Bhutan lost to Qatar 6-0.

Ngawang Jampel said Qatar is an advanced team and they were really strong. “But the boys gave 100 percent.”

The U-20 AFC Qualifiers  tournament has teams from 44 countries who are divided into 10 groups.

The tournament will end on September 18.