After all the guessing, prediction and speculation, the South \u00a0Asian Games men\u2019s gold medal fixture will be between Nepal and Bhutan in Kathmandu.<\/p>\n
Much to the delight of the home fans, the host had to \u00a0labor hard and dig deep \u00a0in their 1-0 victory over \u00a0Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
The game was evenly contested as both teams \u00a0played \u00a0at a fairly \u00a0brisk pace, trading attacks and creating a host of scoring chances.<\/p>\n
Nepal slightly looked the better side \u00a0but were given a run for their money.Bangladesh did everything to get the equalizer,but in vain.<\/p>\n
Tempers flared \u00a0between the teams late in the second half, resulting \u00a0in a Bangladeshi player sent off.The \u00a0Nepali defense did a fairly good job to keep their slate clean despite intense pressure.<\/p>\n
To speak, the title clash between Nepal and Bhutan is a rematch.This matchup is intriguing and at the same time interesting.<\/p>\n
When the two sides met early in the round robin, \u00a0Nepal \u00a0whitewashed Bhutan 4-0 with relative ease, which was \u00a0totally unexpected. As a matter of fact, Bhutan \u00a0paid a heavy price for its lackluster performance.For some reason, they fell flat.<\/p>\n
The \u00a0big question is whether the second meeting \u00a0would pan out in similar fashion. I very much doubt it. I bet they will be a different outfit. They are keenly looking forward to the final game and want to strike back with a vengeance.<\/p>\n
No doubt, Bhutan\u2019s progress to the final has been one of \u00a0the \u00a0biggest stories of the South Asian Games(SAG). They have already assured themselves the best ever result in the regional games.Prior to this, in four appearances their best finish was fourth place.<\/p>\n
Now they are one match away from crowning themselves as the regional champions. Indeed, the improvement \u00a0they have \u00a0shown in their performance \u00a0is praiseworthy and immensely significant. This is a dramatic turnaround for Bhutan football.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, everyone agrees that Nepal \u00a0is mightily struggling in both regional and international competitions lately.<\/p>\n
They are desperately seeking redemption. Going into the final of the 13th SAG, they have a golden opportunity to \u00a0prove themselves and win back some of \u00a0the lost pride and glory.<\/p>\n
They cannot afford to squander the chance.Otherwise, it would \u00a0be tantamount to a disaster.<\/p>\n
All statistics, point to the fact that Nepal is the favorite against Bhutan.Their most recent success over the rival gives them a clear psychological edge.<\/p>\n
Having said that, Nepal \u00a0does have all advantages but victory is not guaranteed.They have to earn it on the field by playing consistently and \u00a0capitalizing on scoring \u00a0opportunities. Players must \u00a0go the extra mile,take their game to a new level and give their best effort.<\/p>\n
The \u00a0big concern \u00a0for \u00a0Nepal has to be the physical fitness of skipper Sujal Shrestha. The team will be pinning hopes on the highest goal scorer of the tournament for goals.<\/p>\n
The title clash will be a whole different \u00a0ball game. Nepal will face a recharged and rejuvenated Bhutan determined to upset the apple cart.<\/p>\n
The Dragon Boys have proven it is not a team to be underestimated.Their brand of football has won the hearts and minds of football aficionados.<\/p>\n
With that in mind,Coach Bal Gopal Maharjan has to combine right tactics,caution, aggression \u00a0and positivity in his approach to deal with the \u00a0opponent. He cannot take any chances.<\/p>\n
I expect Bhutan \u00a0to fire on all cylinders, focus on their strengths and \u00a0exploit the opposition\u2019s weaknesses.<\/p>\n
They will be looking forward to their ace \u00a0striker Chencho Gyeltshen, all time leading \u00a0international goal scorer \u00a0for Bhutan.<\/p>\n
Nicknamed \u00a0the Ronaldo of Bhutan football, \u00a0Gyeltshen \u00a0is \u00a0a prolific goal scorer \u00a0and plays for NEROCA football club based in Imphal, Manipur in the I-League. The trigger man will be the danger man for the home team<\/p>\n
Head coach Nawang Dendup knows his team has to be better fundamentally and technically to beat Nepal on their backyard. He has faith in his boys and truly believes they can pull an upset provided things go as \u00a0planned .<\/p>\n
Nepal has the upperhand, \u00a0and I would be hugely disappointed if they \u00a0fail to come out as victors at the end of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After all the guessing, prediction and speculation, the South \u00a0Asian Games men\u2019s gold medal fixture will be between Nepal and Bhutan in Kathmandu. Much to the delight of the home fans, the host had to \u00a0labor hard and dig deep \u00a0in their 1-0 victory over \u00a0Bangladesh. The game was evenly contested as both teams \u00a0played […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2412,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions\/2412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}