Nepal has reached the final of the Saff U-19 Championship after defeating Afghanistan 3-2 at Anfa Complex in Satdobato.

Anjan Bista scored a brace and Sunil Bal added a third as Nepal survived late scare from the Afghan side to secure a spot in the final. Bista opened the score by heading the first goal in 33rd minute from a Sunil Bal’s corner. He doubled the scoreline in the 39th minute scoring a penalty awarded after an Afghan player handled the ball inside the box. Bista had to retake the penalty after his first one was cancelled by the referee but made no mistake from the spot in the second attempt.

Afghanistan pulled a goal back in the 50th minute when Ananta Tamang’s attempt to clear the ball ended into the Nepali net. Nepal, however, quickly restored the two-goal cushion after Bal scored a spectacular free-kick to make it 3-1 in the 53rd minute.

The Afghan side soon cut back the goal deficit to just one when Mehdi Razai converted a quickly-taken free kick in between the legs of Nepali goalkeeper and into the net. Afghanistan hardly pressed for a third but the team lacked the finishing touch to score the equalizer.

Nepal will now play the winner between the other semi-final match between India and Bangladesh in the final.