Bhutan national under-20 football team

The Bhutan national under-20 football team represents Bhutan in men's international under-20 football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and the South Asian Football Federation.

Bhutan U-20

Association	Bhutan Football Federation
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Hideharu Takahashi
Captain	Pema Zangpo Dorji
FIFA code	BHU
First colours Second colours

History

The team made their competitive debut in 2015 at the 2015 SAFF U-19 Championship. Their debut match was a 3–1 loss to Nepal. Club Brugge youth player Bimal Magar opened the scoring after ten minutes for the hosts, but Bhutan equalised straightaway through defender Sonam Tobgay.^[1] They were unable to capitalise on this however as Magar, despite missing a penalty, went on to complete his hat-trick to seal victory for Nepal.^[1] Bhutan manager Nawang Dendup said that the loss was due to his team defending too deep and not being able to match the speed of their opponents.^[2]

Coaches

Coaching staff

As of 10 August 2024^{[citation needed]}

Position	Name
Head coach	Hideharu Takahashi
Assistant coach	Tandin Dorji Tamang
Team manager	Sangay Wangchuk
Goalkeeper coach	Tshering Chopel
Physiotherapist	Yeshi Samdup
Media officer	Sonam Dorji
Team leader	Yeshi Tshering

Current squad

The following squad was announced on 10 August 2024 for the 2024 SAFF U-20 Championship.^{[citation needed]}

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Rigzin Sonam Tenzin	4 May 2005
2	3MF	Ugyen Wangchuk	10 January 2006
3	3MF	Ugyen Dorji	9 December 2006
4	2DF	Kinzang Tashi Tobden	3 February 2005
5	2DF	Kinley Penjor	11 January 2004
6	2DF	Jignam Seltob Dorji	13 February 2005
7	2DF	Jetsuen Dorji	4 August 2006
8	2DF	Pema Zangpo Dorji (captain)	3 February 2005
9	4FW	Ngawang Chopel	27 September 2005
10	4FW	Kingzang Tenzin	3 December 2005
11	4FW	Jigme Namgyel	13 August 2006
12	4FW	Tshetrim Pelzang	30 December 2006
13	4FW	Kinley Gyeltshen	3 May 2006
14	3MF	Rigzin Dorji	8 January 2006
15	3MF	Sangay Chophel	20 September 2006
16	2DF	Tenzin Lekdrup	27 May 2006
17	3MF	Kelden Dorjee	16 November 2005
18	2DF	Sangay Chophel	11 March 2006
19	3MF	Kamal Uraon	18 October 2006
20	4FW	Ngawang Sonam	7 April 2006
22	2DF	Sonam Yeshey	14 June 2006
23	4FW	Penjor Gyeltshen	22 June 2006

Fixtures and results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

Bhutan v  India

19 August 2024 SAFF U-20 Championship Group stage	Bhutan	0–1	India	Lalitpur, Nepal
15:00 UTC+05:45		Report	Molla 37'	Stadium: ANFA Complex Attendance: 223 Referee: Shyam Danuwar (Nepal)

Maldives  v Bhutan

21 August 2024 SAFF U-20 Championship Group stage	Maldives	1–2	Bhutan	Lalitpur, Nepal
15:00 UTC+05:45	Mohamed Firaq 54'	Report	Je. Dorji 21' Chopel 90'	Stadium: ANFA Complex Attendance: 73 Referee: Bituraj Barua (Bangladesh)

Nepal    v Bhutan

25 August 2024 SAFF U-20 Championship Semi-final	Nepal	1–1 (4–1 p)	Bhutan	Lalitpur, Nepal
15:00 UTC+05:45	Dhami 78'	Report	Je. Dorji 56'	Stadium: ANFA Complex Referee: Senthil Nathan (India)
	Penalties
	R. Thapa Syangtan S. Thapa Shekh		Je. Dorji Namgyel U. Dorji

Guam  v Bhutan

21 September 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification	Guam	1–1	Bhutan	Haiphong, Vietnam
16:00 UTC+07:00	Suzuki 42'	Report	Tenzin 2'	Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium Attendance: 338 Referee: Ahmad Alaeddin (Lebanon)

Bhutan v  Vietnam

23 September 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification	Bhutan	0–5	Vietnam	Haiphong, Vietnam
19:00 UTC+07:00		Report	Nguyễn Bảo Long 8' Nguyễn Đăng Dương 52' Nguyễn Công Phương 74', 90+1' Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn 78'	Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium Attendance: 5,616 Referee: Amir Arab (Iran)

Syria  v Bhutan

25 September 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification	Syria	1–0	Bhutan	Haiphong, Vietnam
16:00 UTC+07:00	Alkalou 69'	Report		Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium Attendance: 121 Referee: Adam Kersey (Australia)

Bhutan v  Bangladesh

29 September 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification	Bhutan	1–2	Bangladesh	Haiphong, Vietnam
16:00 UTC+07:00	Sakib 71' (o.g.)	Report	Molla 4' Islam Moin 86'	Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium Referee: Tam Ping-wun (Hong Kong)

Competitive record

SAFF U-20 Championship

SAFF U-20 Championship record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2015	Group stage	2	0	0	2	1	5
2017	Round-robin	4	2	0	2	2	5
2019	Third place match	4	1	1	2	3	5
2022	Did not participate
2023	Semi-finals	3	1	1	1	5	5
2024	Semi-finals	3	1	1	1	3	3
Total		16	5	3	8	14	23

References

1. "Nepal Under 19 3–1 Bhutan Under 19". goalnepal.com. Goal Nepal. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
2. "Bhutan U19 Coach Nawang Dendup: We Lost The Match Because My Players Played Too Deep". goalnepal.com. Goal Nepal. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.