Dhaka: Two first half goals by Dinesh Henjan enabled Nepal Under-18 team to clinch the five-nation SAFF U-18 Championship title upsetting giant India by 2-0 goals in the last and title deciding match at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu Wednesday evening.

After the day's two vital matches, both Nepal and Bangladesh have secured nine points each from all the four league matches, but Nepal clinched title in head to head record (they beat Bangladesh by 2-1 goals) as per regulations of the tournament that state that head to head results will be prioritized for the title decider if two teams have equal points.

Earlier, two brilliant goals by Jafar Iqbal in a span of only two minutes helped Bangladesh Under-18 football to beat hosts Bhutan by 2-0 goals in their last match Wednesday afternoon to stay in the title race.

Bangladesh also beat Bhutan by 2-0 goals in the last SAFF Youth Championship in Kathmandu in 2015 where hosts Nepal emerged champions.

After beating Bhutan, Bangladesh awaiting for India's win or draw against Nepal in the day's last match to clinch the first-ever-title in the SAFF U-18 Championship but their all hopes went into drain as giant India miserably conceded defeat against Nepal.

Earlier, coming from 0-3 goals behind, Bangladesh made a flying start in the tournament beating their giant neighbour India by 4-3 goals scoring all the four goals in row in the 2nd half and consolidated their position further beating all-loser the Maldives by 2-0 goals in the 2nd match.

Winger Jafar Iqbal, a consistent performer of Bangladesh in the tournament, helped carry on the commendable performance of the red and greens Bangladesh, scoring two quick and goals in span of only two minutes in the 80th and 83rd minutes respectively shocking Bhutan.

Bangladesh's wonder boy Jafar Iqbal, who struck twice in Bangladesh's creditable 4-3 victory over India and netted one goal against the Maldives, proved his worth again in the day's crucial match against Bhutan and dominated the scorer list making five individual goals.

Bangladesh were a little bit slow in the first half as coach Mahbubur Rahman Roxy had decided to bench Jafar Iqbal while Bhutan team took a defensive stance.

After barren first half, the second half however, was different, as the youngsters led the invasion on the Bhutanese side with Jafar Iqbal leading the pack.

Jafar dribbled past the opposition defense in the 80th minute with surprising momentum, baffling the hosts and then placed the ball in the far post of the net, enabling Bangladesh to take 1-0 lead.

Without letting the Bhutanese team rest, Jafar Iqbal again led the attack three minutes later. In the 83rd minute, the winger cum striker made another successful solo effort, beating the opponent goalie in the near post to seal the fate of the match (2-0).

Points Table after Bangladesh-Bhutan last match

Country M W D L GF GA GD Pts
Nepal 4 3 0 1 6 2 +4 9
Bangladesh 4 3 0 1 9 5 +4 9
India 4 2 0 2 8 7 +1 6
Bhutan 4 2 0 2 2 5 -3 6
Maldives 4 0 0 4 1 7 -6 0