Bhutan national under-23 football team

Bhutan Under-23
Nickname(s) Druk Eleven[1]
Druk Yul[2]
Dragon Boys[3]
Association Bhutan Football Federation
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach Nawang Dendup
Captain Chimi Dorji
Top scorer Jigme Dorji
Pema Chophel – 1 goal
Home stadium Changlimithang Stadium
FIFA code BHU
First colours
Second colours
First international
   Nepal 0–0 Bhutan Bhutan
(Rawalpindi, Pakistan; 27 March 2004)
Biggest win
None
Biggest defeat
Bhutan Bhutan 0–5 Nepal   
(Paltan Bazaar, India; 7 February 2016)
South Asian Games
Appearances Four (first in 2004)
Best result 2004 – fourth

The Bhutan national under-23 football team represents Bhutan in men's international under-23 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. Bhutan have never attempted to qualify for the Olympic Games and their competitive matches have been restricted solely to the South Asian Games, where they made their debut in 2004. The team have yet to win a game, their only positive results being draws against Nepal in their first ever match and Bangladesh in 2016.

History

Bhutan made their debut at the 9th South Asian Federation Games in 2004. The senior national team had previously competed on multiple occasions in the football tournaments of the South Asian Games, but this was the first time that the tournament was restricted to under-23 teams.[4] The tournament was originally scheduled for 2001, but was cancelled due to the conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan. It was rescheduled for 2003, but Bhutan withdrew. This time, due to the war in Iraq, the tournament was postponed for a second time but was rescheduled a second time for 2004, which Bhutan re-entered.[4] Drawn in a three team group including Nepal and Sri Lanka (following the Maldives' withdrawal), an opening 0–0 draw with Nepal was a positive start.[4] With Sri Lanka beating both Bhutan and Nepal 1–0 in the remaining two group games, Bhutan finished with an identical record to Nepal, but progressed to the knockout rounds winning the toss of a coin.[4] A 4–1 loss to India in the semi finals, with Pema Chophel scoring the team's first ever goal,[4] saw them face Sri Lanka again in the bronze medal play off match. This time they produced a better performance drawing 0–0 after sudden death extra time, but ultimately lost 3–2 in the resulting penalty shoot out to finish in fourth place overall.[4]

Their next international fixtures were in the 2006 South Asian Games.[5] This time they were less successful. Drawn in a group with Sri Lanka, Pakistan national under-23 football team and the Maldives, Bhutan were eliminated after losing all three of their games: 1–0 against the Maldives and 4–0 against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka to return home without scoring a goal.[5]

There was a four-year gap this time between editions of the South Asian Games, but Bhutan sent their under-23 team to Bangladesh in 2010.[6] Again they were drawn in a four team group, this time with Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives, and again they were eliminated following three consecutive losses: 1–0 versus the Maldives, 4–0 versus Bangladesh and then 2–0 versus Nepal to return home for a second time in a row without scoring a goal.[6]

Bhutan's next, and to date most recent series of matches was in 2016, again at the South Asian Games.[7] This time, they were drawn in a three team group, again playing matches against Bangladesh and Nepal.[7] they lost their first match 5–0 to Nepal, to date their heaviest defeat, though they rallied in their final match to draw 1–1 with Bangladesh,[7] and in doing so score only their second ever goal and their first in twelve years through Jigme Dorji.[4] However, this was not enough to seal progression to the knockout stages as Bangladesh beat Nepal in their final group game to claim second place and Bhutan were eliminated.[7]

Current squad

the following squad was selected for the 2016 South Asian Games:[8]

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Tshering Dendup (1994-04-04) 4 April 1994 Bhutan Yeedzin
21 1GK Gyaltshen Zangpo
23 1GK Tobgay
2 2DF Kinley Penjor
4 2DF Jigme Dorji (1995-02-26) 26 February 1995
5 2DF Tenzing Dorji
6 2DF Chimi Dorji (Captain) (1993-12-22) 22 December 1993 Bhutan Druk Star
8 2DF Nima Wangdi
20 2DF Choki Wangchuk
9 3MF Tenzin Shezang
11 3MF Sonam Tobgay
12 3MF Lungtok Dawa (1998-12-18) 18 December 1998 Bhutan Druk Star
14 3MF Dawa Tshering Bhutan Ugyen Academy
16 3MF Tshering Dorji (1993-09-10) 10 September 1993 Bhutan Thimphu City
17 3MF Biren Basnet (1994-10-20) 20 October 1994 Bhutan Thimphu City
22 3MF Lhendup Dorji (1994-12-05) 5 December 1994 Bhutan Druk Star
7 4FW Chencho Gyeltshen (1996-05-10) 10 May 1996 Thailand Satun United
15 4FW Kesang Penjor
18 4FW Dorji
19 4FW Kezang Wangdi Bhutan Druk Star

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

2016

Competitive record

The under-23 team have only ever competed in the South Asian Games.

South Asian Games

South Asian Games
Hosts / Year Result Pld W D* L GS GA
Nepal 1984 to India 1995 Not eligible
Pakistan 2004Fourth402215
Sri Lanka 2006Group Stage300309
Bangladesh 2010Group Stage300307
India 2016Group Stage201116
Total120210227

*: Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicates 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.

International opponents

Last match updated:  Bangladesh on 9 February 2016.
Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff Win % Loss %
 Bangladesh201115−40%50%
 India100114−30%100%
 Maldives200202−20%100%
   Nepal300307−70%100%
 Pakistan100104−40%100%
 Sri Lanka301205−50%67%
Total120210229-270%83%
Key
>50% Wins
50% Wins
<50% Wins

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wangdi, Kencho (28 June 2002). "World Cup 2002: The other final – Bhutan met Montserrat". raonline.ch. RA Online / Kuensel. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Bhutan". national-football-teams.com. national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Tshedup, Younten (21 August 2015). "Bhutan loses to Cambodia 2–0". kuenselonline.com. Kuensel. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Courtney, Barrie; Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (25 June 2006). "9th South Asian Federation Games 2004 (Pakistan)". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (19 February 2010). "10th South Asian Federation Games 2006 (Colombo)". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (19 February 2010). "11th South Asian Federation Games 2010 (Bangladesh)". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Di Maggio, Roberto (18 February 2016). "12th South Asian Federation Games 2016 (India)". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Nepal U-23 5-0 Bhutan U-23". goalnepal.com. GoalNepal.com. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
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