The Group is well open for all the teams as either of four could make it into the next round of the tournament. Nepal with four points leads the group with similar points to India but are ahead in goal difference. Meanwhile, Bangladesh-Pakistan share equal one point, still both have chance mathematically but need to rely in Nepal-India match.
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Nepal started their journey with 2-0 win over Bangladesh as Anil Gurung and man of the match Bharat Khawas scored a piece in the first half. Nepal has three goals in their name as Bimal Gharti Magar scored extra time goal to ensure 1 point against Pakistan , they could not hold their 70 minutes long lead for couple of more minutes .
India in the other hand started with hard fought victory over Pakistan as the own goal remained only one which was enough to give the defending champions what they needed. Similar to Nepal, India came from behind, in injury time on a Sunil Chhetri’s direct free kick goal to steal away victory from Bangladesh to grab one point.
The six time winners will face Nepal who is yet to prove themselves in the tournament all time with the third place being their best so far in the tournament. They are yet to win or even enter the final which fans expect with huge fan support at home.
Semi Final Probability and Scenario.
If Tied: This would be the most easy of calculations. If Nepal ties up in score with India, they will qualify as the group winners and India will make into the semifinals as the runner-ups, no matter what Bangladesh-Pakistan score remains.
If Nepal wins: Nepal will qualify as the group winners while India has to depend on Bangladesh-Pakistan result. India will eventually make to the next round as group runner-ups if Pakistan wins while Bangladesh victory means the battle will go into goal difference count.
If India wins: If India wins , Nepal have to rely on Bangladesh – Pakistan result. If Bangladesh wins, Nepal is ultimately promoted to next round on a head-to-head basis while Pakistan victory means Nepal needs to count on the goal difference.
Head to Head
The host side has always struggled over India in previous occasions with just two victories in 13 officially officiated matches. The last meeting came on a Nehru cup match when Nepal played goalless draw despite of brave display with attacking problems.
Total : 13
India win : 10
Nepal Win : 2
Draw: 1
Though the history is in favour of India the present scenario is in favour of Nepal as Nepal is playing better football than India.
1985: Second SAF 0-2 LOST
1987: Third SAF 0-1 LOST
1989: Fourth SAF 1-2 LOST
1993: Sixth SAF 2-2 DRAWN (4-3 TB) WON
1993: First SAARC Gold Cup 0-1 LOST
1995: Seventh SAF 0-3 LOST
1998: 13th Asian Games 0-1 LOST
1999: Eighth SAF 0-4 LOST
2005: Fourth SAFF Championships 1-2 LOST
2006: First AFC Challenge Cup 3-0 WON
2008: Fifth SAFF Championships 0-4 LOST
2009: Sixth SAFF Championships 0-1 LOST
2012: Nehru Cup 0-0 DRAWN
Catpain Sagar Thapa speaks ahead of heated clash against India and says the team wants to win, knowing a draw is sufficient to qualify as the group winners.
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