Nepal stormed into the final of the SAFF U-20 Championship after they defeated ten-man Bhutan 4-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the ANFA Complex in Lalitpur on Sunday.

Nepal goalkeeper Jiyarat Shekh was the hero of the shootout. He stopped penalties from Jigme Namgyel and Ugyen Dorji and scored the decisive penalty kick, sending Nepal into their third final of the competition.

Nepal will face defending champions India or Bangladesh, who meet in the second semi-final clash on Monday, in the title match on Wednesday.

The defeat also ended Bhutan’s hopes of reaching their first ever final of the SAFF age-group competition. They reached the semi-finals in 2017, 2019 and 2023.

Bhutan were a better side and kept Nepal under pressure most of the first half but could not create any clear chance at goal.

Nepal were also lacklustre before the break and could not really threaten the Bhutan post.

But the game suddenly burst into life eleven minutes into the second half, when Jetsuen Dorji intercepted a poor pass from Semanta Thapa and launched a thunderstrike from outside the edge of the penalty area. Nepal goalie Shekh was completely aware of the incoming shot and could have done better but let the ball slip with his misguided effort.

Nepal immediately felt a sense of urgency after conceding and their constant pressure on the opponents was rewarded with two freekicks from dangerous range after 70 minutes.

Abinash Syangtan failed to convert both freekicks but his first attempt was a further warning of what Nepal could do as Bhutan’s goalkeeper Lhocho Nima had to work really hard to keep the shot away.

Nepal continued to apply pressure and it earned them their first reward as Kinzang Tenzin was sent off for a second yellow after harshly challenging Sabin Ghimire in the middle of the pitch.

Tenzin’s departure proved costly for Bhutan as Nepal equalised only six seconds after the match resumed.

Semanta tossed the resulting freekick for Lachhu Thapa, who sent a long ball into the six yard box for Dhami to head home with an incredible back-header.

Samir Tamang almost put the game to bed in the 90th minute but his header off a long pass from Ram Thapa missed the goal by inches.

Bhutan had a golden opportunity to shock Nepal in the fifth minute of injury time when Semanta’s poor attempt to clear the ball fell straight to the path of Namgyel. But the midfielder could not capitalise on the chance from near the spot kick, as the game went to tiebreaker.