Nepal’s hopes of progressing into the semi-finals of the SAFF Championship 2023 came to a crashing end after they lost 2-0 to hosts India at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Having lost their opener 3-1 against Kuwait, Nepal needed a victory against the South Asian giants to have any chance of advancing from the group stage after Kuwait thumped Pakistan 4-0 earlier at the same venue.

India were clear favourites against Nepal, who are going through a massive transition with almost half of the squad shouldering the SAFF duty carrying less than five caps. Nepal had reached their first ever final in Maldives in 2021, but in Bengaluru they were missing most of the players—who have immigrated abroad seeking a better future—from that historic campaign.

But the young guns still put up the best fight and almost brought the record eight-time champions to their knees with a solid defence and quick counter attacks.

“It feels sad that we could not advance into the last four,” Nepal captain and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu said after the match. “But I am very proud of my boys.” It is the first time Nepal have failed to reach the semi-finals of a SAFF competition since 2015.

Nepal coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese made three changes from a team that lost against Kuwait, with Bimal Gharti Magar back in the starting line-up.

India made eight changes as only Sunil Chhetri, Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad retained their places in the starting XI from their previous match against Pakistan.

It was a match full of energy and end-to-end action. Nepal were technically sounder than India in the first half and created a number of chances but lacked the cutting edge to convert them into goals.

India also had a few opportunities. Thapa was the first to get the chance at goal when Akash Misra cut back for him but Thapa flashed wide from the penalty area in the 16th minute.

A minute later, Arik Bista forced India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh to make a save, with his volley off a poor clearance from Sahal Samad piercing through the crowded box.

Laken Limbu then engineered a chance at the India box in the 25th minute with a precise through pass but Manish Dangi was unable to capitalise on it.

One of the best moments for Nepal came in the 34th minute when Dangi got the best of Mishra at the centre and raced into the box. India defenders were still struggling to regroup but a lack of communication between Dangi and Gharti Magar saw Nepal let that golden opportunity slip away.

Nepal lost Anjan Bista—Nepal’s second highest goal scorer—at the end of the first half due to an injury on his right knee which he sustained while battling for the ball against Thapa midway into the opening half.

The loss of Bista was a big blow to Nepal’s resistance and India showed why they are one of the title favourites with their pace and urgency, aided by a moment of magic from captain Chhetri.

It was the 38-year-old captain’s wit and brilliance that helped India finally break the deadlock in the 61st minute as he cleverly penetrated the Nepali defence line to tap home a low cross from Mahesh Singh. It was Chhetri’s 91st goal in 139 matches for India. He had scored a hat-trick in India’s 4-0 rout of Pakistan on Wednesday.

That left Nepal with a mountain to climb and India did more damage in the 70th minute with another strike in a counter attack when Singh headed in a rebound after Chhetri’s shot from close range stung the palm of Nepal goalkeeper Limbu before bouncing off the crossbar.

The match was almost tainted by bad blood when India’s Rahul Shankar Bheke assaulted Gharti Magar for a challenge leading to a brawl but Chhetri showed his sportsmanship to calm the storm.

Simanta Thapa made his international debut for Nepal.

Nepal exited from the group stage with a match in hand. They next face Pakistan, who have also been knocked out of the tournament following two losses, in a dead rubber match on Tuesday.

India and Kuwait—both of whom have six points—will also face off on Tuesday to decide Group A winners.