The Afghan National Football Team defeated Bhutan 3-0 in its first match of the 2013 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup on Monday evening in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Haroon Fakhruddin (#12) scored the first goal for Afghanistan in the '37 minute of the game off a shot that rebounded off the post of the Bhutan goal. The two Group B opponents went into half time with the score line at 1-0, with Afghan side having dominated possession.
In the second half, the Afghan goalkeeper, Hamidullah Yosufzai (#1) managed to save a penalty in the '67 minute of the match to keep his sheet clean and his side in the lead. The second goal for Afghanistan was quickly scored by Mustafa Azadzoy (#7) and then the third by Hashmatullah Mohammad Jan (#3) in the final moments of the match.
"The team played really well. We still have some issues and we need to solve them in the upcoming matches," said Yousuf Kargar, the coach of the Afghan side.
Afghanistan will face Sri Lanka in its next match of the SAFF Championship on Wednesday. The match would be televised live on TOLO and Lemar TV at 2:00pm Kabul time.
Afghanistan is considered one of the strongest contenders for the SAFF Cup this year. Last month, Afghanistan defeated Pakistan decidedly 3-0 in a friendly match held in Kabul.
Eight South Asian teams will be participating in the SAFF Championship, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nepal.
This will be the 10th SAFF Championship, and the second time Nepal has hosted the competition. The tournament is scheduled to run from August 31 through September 11, 2013.
Nepal was selected as host in September 2012 during the 2012 SAFF Women's Championship in Sri Lanka.
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