Bhutan national under-17 football team

Last updated

Bhutan Under-17
Flag of Bhutan.svg
Association Bhutan Football Federation (BFF)
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation SAFF (South Asia)
Captain Lungtok Dawa
Home stadium Changlimithang Stadium
FIFA code BHU
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body bhutanWCQ18h-01.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
First colours
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body bhutanWCQ18a-01.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts bhutanWCQ18a-01.png
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Second colours
First international
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 3–0 Bhutan Flag of Bhutan.svg
(Uzbekistan; 31 October 2003)
Biggest win
Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan 6–0 Sri Lanka Flag of Sri Lanka.svg
(Lalitpur, Nepal; 21 August 2017)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan 0–12 Tajikistan Flag of Tajikistan.svg
(Kuwait City, Kuwait; 23 September 2013)
AFC U-16 Championship
Appearances0
SAFF U-15 Championship
Appearances5 (first in 2013 )
Best resultFourth Place (2017)

The Bhutan national under-17 football team represents Bhutan in men's international under-17 football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation. The under-17 team has played sporadically since its first foray into international football in 2004, competing exclusively either in the qualifying rounds for the AFC U-16 Championship or the SAFF U-16 Championship. They are one of the weakest teams in their age group within both their continental and regional federations, having never qualified for the competition proper of the AFC U-16 Championship. They have played only nineteen competitive games in their entire history, losing eighteen of them, their only result coming in the form of a 0–0 draw with Pakistan in the 2013 SAFF U-16 Championship, conceding 102 goals along the way whilst scoring only seven in reply.

Contents

History

Bhutan under-17s, much like the senior side came to international football relatively late. Although formal competition organized by the continental federation for this age group only commenced in 1985, Bhutan did not take part until 2004 when they entered the qualification rounds for the 2004 AFC U-17 Championship [1] following three consecutive withdrawals from the qualifying competition in 1998, [2] 2000 [3] and 2002. [4] Following this somewhat stuttering entry into the international arena, they travelled to Uzbekistan where their group games were to be played, but met with little success, failing to qualify and returning home without a point, or even scoring, losing 3–0 to Sri Lanka and then 6–0 to hosts Uzbekistan. [1]

The team did not compete in the qualifying rounds of the next edition of the tournament [5] but returned to continental competition two years later entering the qualifying rounds of the 2008 edition. [6] This time the team travelled to Saudi Arabia, where all their group's matches were to be played. Their break from international football had not helped the team progress, as they lost their opening two matches 4–0 to Saudi Arabia and 1–0 to Sri Lanka. [6] Their third match was to be their worst performance to that point, an 11-0 thrashing at the hands of Iraq. [6] Although they continued in this vein, losing their next group game as well, they recorded their first ever competitive goal at the sixth time of asking in a 4–1 defeat to Lebanon, Thinley Dorji scoring a consolation goal for Bhutan in injury time at the end of the game. [6] They were however unable to build on this, losing their final group game to India 4–0, to return home pointless for the second time. [6]

For the first time in their history Bhutan competed in two consecutive editions of the AFC U-17 Championship qualifying rounds, travelling to Sana'a in Yemen for another round of five matches in their attempt to qualify for the 2010 AFC U-16 Championship. [7] Their campaign got off to a terrible start, as they nearly eclipsed their unenviable record defeat suffered in the previous edition against Iraq, losing 10–0 in their opening match to Syria. [7] The team recovered somewhat though in their next game, a narrow 2–1 defeat to Palestine, Chencho Gyeltshen putting Bhutan in front for the first time in any competitive match with only their second competitive goal in their history after just over a quarter of an hour, only to see Ashraf Nababta equalise ten minutes later. [8] It looked as though Bhutan might hold on for a draw and their first ever positive result until Nababta scored his second of the game for Palestine in the eighty-third minute to claim all three points. [8] The following two games saw Bhutan concede seven goals to both hosts Yemen and Iraq, [7] although Dawa Tshering was able to convert a penalty on the stroke of half-time [9] and the six goal margin was a considerable improvement on the scoreline the last time the two teams met. However, for the third time in three attempts Bhutan returned home without a point, albeit the two goals they scored represented their best attacking performance in competition to that point.

After missing the qualifying tournament for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship, [10] Bhutan's next foray into international football was the second edition of the SAFF U-16 Championship. Hosted by himalayan neighbour Nepal, the team's first performance in a regional international competition was their best to date. Their opening match against the hosts in the tournament's opening fixture at the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu started promisingly as Bhutan went in at half time with the game scoreless. [11] However they were unable to keep up their level of performance and conceded seven goals in the second half, with Bimal Magar and his namesake Hemant Magar both scoring hat-tricks. [11] Bhutan's next match in the competition was arguably their greatest performance to date, as they secured their first ever positive result at the fourteenth time of asking in a 0–0 draw with Pakistan, despite being put under immense pressure from the Pakistanis in the second half. [12] They were unable to build on this draw in their final game, losing 3–1 to Afghanistan [13] Tenzin Shezang gave Bhutan the lead in the nineteenth minute although Afghanistan equalised through Atiqulallah Waziri to take the two teams into the break level. [13] A further two goals in the second half from Nasir Ahmad consigned Bhutan to defeat and confirmed that Afghanistan would progress to the knock-out stages whilst Bhutan would go home. [13]

Two months later the under-17 team travelled to Kuwait for the qualifying rounds of the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship. An opening 4–2 defeat to Lebanon was lent some respectability with two goals in injury time at the end of the game from Samten Norbu and Nawang Tshering, marking the first time in their history that the team had managed to score more than a single goal in a game. [14] The remainder of the tournament was entirely forgettable for Bhutan. Their next match against Tajikistan resulted in a record 12–0 defeat, [15] Tajik forward Rustam Tolibov scored a hat trick in the first hour, only to be replaced by fellow forward Sobirdzhon Gulyakov, who went on to score a further four goals himself in the remaining thirty minutes. [15] The remaining two games saw further heavy defeats for Bhutan, 5–0 against the hosts Kuwait [16] and 8–1 against India. [17] This meant that for the fourth time in four attempts, Bhutan not only failed to qualify for the competition proper, but returned home without a single point. The only positive note to take from the tournament was Yoesel Dorji's goal against India [17] meant that their three goals in total was their best ever attacking performance in any competition to date.

Current squad

The following players were named for the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship qualification matches that took place in Kuwait in September 2013: [17]

No.Pos.PlayerDate of birth (age)CapsGoalsClub
11 GK Gyaltshen Zangpo00
121 GK Anup Ghalley40
211 GK Jigme Thinely00

22 DF Lungtok Dawa20
32 DF Yeshi Dorji30
42 DF Santosh Siwa30
62 DF Choki Wangchuk40
162 DF Thinley Dorji40

53 MF Rinchen Wangdi40
73 MF Lekhden Phuntsho40
83 MF Dawa Tshering10
103 MF Nima Wangdi40
113 MF Ugyen Wangchuk20
133 MF Kezang Jamtsho10
183 MF Nawang Tshering11
203 MF Kinzang Gyelpo20

94 FW Samten Norbu41
144 FW Yoesel Dorji41
154 FW Tandin Dorji10
174 FW Kelzang Wangchuk20
194 FW Tenzin Shezang40
223 MF Orgyen Wangchuk Tshering10

Note: Caps and goals for 2013 AFC U-16 championship qualifying only.

Recent results and fixtures

2013 SAFF U-16 Championship

20 July 2013 Nepal    Flag of Nepal.svg7–0Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Dashrath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu
16:00 B.Magar Soccerball shade.svg48', 62', 63'
H.Magar Soccerball shade.svg58', 76', 84'
Subedi Soccerball shade.svg78'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Kasun Lakmal Weerakkody (Sri Lanka)
22 July 2013 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg0–0Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Army Ground, Kathmandu
16:00Attendance: 3,341
Referee: Nabindra Maharjan (Nepal)
24 July 2013 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg1–3Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan Army Ground, Kathmandu
16:00 Shezang Soccerball shade.svg18' Wazir Soccerball shade.svg27'
Ahmad Soccerball shade.svg63', 90+2'
Attendance: 1,971
Referee: S.Borua (Bangladesh)

2014 AFC U-16 Championship qualification

21 September 2013 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg2–4Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
20:50 Samten Soccerball shade.svg90'
Ngawang Soccerball shade.svg90+3' (pen.)
Report Kharoubi Soccerball shade.svg11'
Al Debek Soccerball shade.svg32'
Abou Fakher Soccerball shade.svg53'
Khayat Soccerball shade.svg75'
Attendance: 100
Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)
23 September 2013 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg0–12Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
20:50 Report Khasanov Soccerball shade.svg13'
Muhammadjoni Soccerball shade.svg19', 27'
Tolibov Soccerball shade.svg20', 49', 61'
Uzaqov Soccerball shade.svg60'
Gulyakov Soccerball shade.svg66', 67', 69', 89'
Malodustov Soccerball shade.svg76'
Attendance: 100
Referee: Khamis Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
25 September 2013 Kuwait  Flag of Kuwait.svg5–0Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
16:50 Al Enezi Soccerball shade.svg10', 18'
Al Bariki Soccerball shade.svg43', 76'
Al Sulaili Soccerball shade.svg57'
Report Attendance: 120
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)

2019 UEFA ASSIST U-15 International Tournament

20 July 2019 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg2–1Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives Addu Football Stadium, Addu City
16:00 Namgyel Soccerball shade.svg6'
Al Bariki Soccerball shade.svg43'
Pradhan Soccerball shade.svg25'
Adam Soccerball shade.svg68'Referee: Abdulla Shathir (Maldives)
24 July 2019 Latvia  Flag of Latvia.svg5–3Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Addu Football Stadium, Addu City
16:00 Puzanovs Soccerball shade.svg8'
Sits Soccerball shade.svg9', 42', 73'
Melnis Soccerball shade.svg52'
Pradhan Soccerball shade.svg20'
Tenzing Soccerball shade.svg45'
Choeda Soccerball shade.svg47'
Referee: Abdulla Shathir (Maldives)
29 July 2019 Latvia  Flag of Latvia.svg6–0Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Addu Football Stadium, Addu City
16:00 Sackovs Soccerball shade.svg13', 40'
Sits Soccerball shade.svg24', 90+1'
Volkovs Soccerball shade.svg62'
Melnis Soccerball shade.svg72'
Referee: Abdulla Shathir (Maldives)

2019 SAFF U-15 Championship

21 August 2019 Sri Lanka  Flag of Sri Lanka.svg3–2Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani
15:00 Jayalath Soccerball shade.svg52'
Neil Soccerball shade.svg73'
Shakeel Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Tenzin Soccerball shade.svg7'
Chozang Soccerball shade.svg47'
Attendance: 1,840
Referee: Bhubon Tarafdar (Bangladesh)
23 August 2019 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg2–5Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani
12:00 Dorji Soccerball shade.svg17'
Chozang Soccerball shade.svg72'
Mirad Soccerball shade.svg15', 83'
Rahman Soccerball shade.svg21'
Sarkar Soccerball shade.svg45'
Raju Soccerball shade.svg90+7'
Attendance: 2,890
Referee: Nabindra Maharjan (Nepal)
25 August 2019 India  Flag of India.svg7–0Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani
16:50 Loitongbam Soccerball shade.svg1', 57'
Nongmeikapam Soccerball shade.svg9', 25'
Singson Soccerball shade.svg22'
Zomuanpuia Soccerball shade.svg86'
Yumnam Soccerball shade.svg89'
Report Attendance: 3,450
Referee: Bhubon Tarafder (Bangladesh)
29 August 2019 Bhutan  Flag of Bhutan.svg0–6Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani
12:00 Lamsal Soccerball shade.svg5', 48'
Khatri Soccerball shade.svg9'
Rai Soccerball shade.svg49'
Sapkota Soccerball shade.svg85'
Jimee Soccerball shade.svg94'
Attendance: 1,840
Referee: Vinay Suvarna (India)

Honours

Competitive history

AFC U-17 Asian Cup