Nepal will be looking to break the Afghanistan hoodoo when the two teams clash in the semi-finals of the first Saff U-19 Championship here at the Anfa Complex on Thursday.

After the senior team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Afghans in the 2011 AFC Challenge Cup Group ‘D’ Qualifiers in Kathmandu, the war-torn nation has emerged as a football powerhouse in South Asia, their eighth Saff Championship title triumph underlines the fact.

Nepali football, meanwhile, has been on a slide going trophy-less for the last 22 years. Nepal’s last international title came in the sixth South Asian Games held in 1993 in Dhaka. Afghanistan, who joined the South Asian Federation in 2005, remained calm for seven years before marking a rise.

Afghanistan first defeated Nepal 1-0 in their semi-final meetings of the 2011 and 2013 Saff Championships, while in age group they eased to a 2-0 victory during the 2015 AFC U-23 Qualifiers in Iran early this year. With a bitter history and his boys’ inability to compete with their best playing at his back, coach Bal Gopal Maharjan feels the heat ahead of the crucial clash.

“We are anxious,” said Maharjan on the eve of the match. “Afghanistan have defeated our senior boys twice and they also got over us in the U-23 tournament. We are desperate to end a poor run of results by defeating them tomorrow (Thursday),” added the U-19 coach. But to beat the sturdy Afghans, Nepal first need to overcome their own shortcomings that have been seriously exposed in the first two league matches that they won in an unconvincing manner. Nepal’s midfield and defense has not been able to forge a good coordination so far creating extra pressure to the front line.

Their 3-1 opening match win against Bhutan sounded emphatic in terms of scorelines but the performance was not. With skipper Bimal Gharti Magar scoring all three goals, Maharjan admitted they were “unconvincing” against Bhutan. And his problems compounded even more when they required a penalty and an own goal to edge Bangladesh 2-1. Maharjan knew the margin of error is zero in the semi-finals.

“We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes. Our defense and midfield was unable to hold possession for long and this is an area where we have to improve on. The Afghans are strong and we can overcome them in terms of technique and physique too,” said Maharjan. Gharti Magar seconded Maharjan’s opinion. “The midfield department is the area we need to improve on and we will do that. Afghanistan have been tough opponents for us and we are ready to find a solution against their physical strength,” said the skipper.

The Nepali camp will be relieved by the absence of Afghanistan’s first choice goalkeeper Mohammad Nawid Afghan, who was red carded in their group game against India. However, his absence was not a big headache for coach Syed Rajab Shah Masomi. “We came here with two goalkeepers and the second choice keeper is able to replace Afghan,” said Masomi. The Afghanistan coach said the odds are against his side as they are playing in an unfamiliar conditions. He added: “Playing the match at 12:00 noon is in itself a challenge for us. Some of our guys are tired and we will make some changes (in the squad).

In another semi-final, also slated for Thursday, tournament favourites India will take on Bangladesh.