Manish Dangi scores an equaliser to salvage a point for the two-time defending champions.

Nepal now rank 161st following an improvement from the previous 166th position.

The hosts are the only team to have won the title, having won both the previous two editions of the biennial age-group tournament.

Nepal are drawn in Group ‘A’ along with Bhutan and Maldives while Group ‘B’ consists of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Nepal have won the previous two editions of the regional age-group tournament.

Nepal made it to the final after finishing second behind Uzbekistan in the round-robin league.

It was the maiden away victory that Nepal had recorded in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers till date.

Nepal can progress to the final if they beat Tajikistan in their last group match on Tuesday.

Both teams are coming into the second game having lost their first match on September 5.

Nepal lost by seven goals to the Gulf nation in the first match of the World Cup and Asian Cup Qualifiers.

The tournament serves as an exposure for the Nepali women footballers ahead of the 13th South Asian Games.

Head coach Johan Kalin chases first win since taking over the job in March.

It was Nepal’s third defeat to their arch rivals in the age group summit clash.

Coach Sunil Kumar Shrestha is gunning for the title having lost to the same team in 2017 final.

Nepal coach Kalin announces 23-member squad for the joint World Cup and Asian Cup Qualifiers against Kuwait and Taiwan.

The U-23 Nepali team rallied from a goal down to beat hosts India 2-1 in 2016 final in Guwahati.

After regular time, the match headed straight into the penalty shootout and Eleven Arrows completed a remarkable turnaround beating the defending champions in the shootout.

Johan Kalin says he is looking for better performance rather than results in the Qualifiers.

The match is part of Nepal's preparations for the joint World Cup and Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Fofana Fode struck twice and captain Pasang Sherpa scored the another goal for the winners.