Nepal hold Bangladesh to thrilling draw

Nepal held Bangladesh to a thrilling 2-2 draw in Thursday’s international friendly at the National Stadium in Dhaka, extending the unbeaten run against the hosts since 2020.

Bangladesh’s England-based midfielder Hamza Choudhury was the standout performer for the home side, scoring twice in quick succession early in the second half. But Nepal showed strong character to fight back and deny the hosts a victory in front of a packed crowd.

Nepal opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Rohit Chand, who fired a brilliant long-range strike past the Bangladeshi defence. Nepal controlled much of the first half before Bangladesh responded immediately after the break.

Choudhury levelled the match in the 46th minute with an acrobatic finish and gave Bangladesh a 2-1 lead four minutes later from the penalty spot. Despite the pressure, Nepal kept their composure and continued to push forward.

The equaliser arrived deep into added time when Ananta Tamang produced a clever backheel finish from a corner, silencing the home crowd and securing a deserved 2-2 draw for Nepal.

Choudhury was substituted in the 80th minute after picking up a knee injury and was seen on the sideline as Nepal struck the late leveller.

With this result, Nepal continue their impressive record against Bangladesh, having remained unbeaten in meetings since 2020. The friendly served as valuable preparation for both teams ahead of their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on November 18.