Nepal were dealt with a hammer blow in their final ambition of SAFF U-20 Championship after they suffered a humiliating 8-0 defeat against India in the penultimate group stage match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Parthib Sundar Gogoi and Taison Singh Loitongbam struck twice each for the hosts who came into the match with a must-win pressure to reignite their final hopes after losing their opening match 2-1 against Bangladesh before defeating Sri Lanka 4-0. Despite going into the break with a 1-0 lead, the hosts added seven goals in the second half to inflict the visitors a humiliating defeat.

Unlike India, Nepal came into the game on the back of two victories in a row—a 4-0 win over Maldives and 3-0 over Sri Lanka. But their hopes of entering the final with a match in hand hit a snag with the defeat.

With the outcome, India replaced Nepal at second position in the standings on equal six points but they hold superiority by the virtue of better goal margin. Bangladesh lead the table with maximum nine points from three matches. The teams finishing on top two positions at the end of league round will be eligible for the final.

India will take on already eliminated Maldives in the last game while Nepal are scheduled to play against leaders Bangladesh on the same day. Nepal now must register at least a four-goal margin victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday to enter the final in case India beat the Maldives in the last fixture of the group rounds. But if India lose to the Maldives, a draw or win would be sufficient for Nepal to progress to the next round.

India dominated the show from the onset and kept the visitors under pressure with constant attacks on goal. The hosts came closer to scoring in as early as the ninth minute before Himanshu Jangra ended up shooting wide from close range. They threatened yet again in the 18th with captain Helen Nongtdu heading inches wide in forward Gogoi’s cross.

They opened the account in the 32nd through Loitongbam capitalising on a blunder by goalie Ishwor Gurung. The shot stopper failed to properly punch Maheson Singh Tongbram’s cross, paving an easy heading opportunity to Loitongbam at an unguarded post.

Forward Gogoi opened the floodgates six minutes into the second half applying a scorcher in Himanshu Jangra cross inside the crowded zone. He added his second goal a minute later to effectively kill the match with 3-0 score.

Loitongbam netted his second in the 66th before India netted fifth from the penalty spot in the 71st minute. Jangra converted from the spot after defender Aayush Shrestha brought down Gogoi inside the area.

Tankadhar Bag made it 6-0 in the 78th before Gurkirat Singh added another in the 90th minute. Shubho Paul sealed the victory with the eighth goal in stoppage time.