The Nepali team currently in Qatar is preparing to play yet another friendly match in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers. As per the reports Nepal will play an unofficial friendly match against Sri Lanka on May 31 Tuesday. Though the FIFA has not recognized this friendly match as an international friendly. Earlier, the head coach of the Nepali team Abdullah Almutairi had said that they would play three friendly matches.
Nepal's previous matches
Earlier, in the first match played before the Asian Cup qualifiers on Saturday, Nepal ended in a 2-2 draw against Timor Leste U23. After trailing 2-0 in the first half, Nepal made an appreciable come back scoring both goals in the second half. Timor Leste took the lead in last 2 minutes of the first. It was Darshan Gurung who was dubbed at 42' for Santosh Tanag in the first half who scored the first goal for Nepal at 60th minutes of the game. While on 72th minute captain and forward Nawayug Shrestha made it 2-2 for Nepal.
Nepal's preparation
The Nepali team will prepare in Qatar for about nine days. After that they will leave for Kuwait on June 4. Meanwhile, due to a dispute between the players and the coach, a young player has been included in the team. Though Nepal had planned to play a friendly match in Doha ahead of the Asian Cup qualifiers, it was said that the final was not over yet. But Qatar football has invited seven Asian countries to coach at home. Nepal, which is in Group A of the Asian Cup qualifiers, will play against teams like Kuwait, Jordan and Indonesia. Nepal will play its first match against Jordan on June 8 and its second match against Kuwait on June 11. It will also face lastly Indonesia on June 14. The top three teams in the third round and the best runners-up in each of the five groups will advance to the finals.
Match live details Nepal vs Srilanka
The match between Nepal and Srilanka will be played under closed doors i.e. no spectators allowed to watch the match. Game will kick off at 9:45 PM Nepali time. Also there's no official live broadcast for this match since it's an unofficial match.
No big names in Nepal's Squad:
Nepal has announced the national football team for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has announced the 23-member squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers on Friday. Head coach Abdullah Almutairi announced the squad, excluding 11 senior players, including captain Kiran Chemjong. Expressing dissatisfaction with the working style of the head coach Almutairi, 10 players who were in training left the closed training on April 27. Among the dropouts are Rohit Chand, Ananta Tamang, Anjan Bista, Sujal Shrestha, Vishal Shrestha, Vishal Rai, Bimal Ghartimagar, Suman Lama, and Dinesh Rajbanshi. After the players left the closed training, ANFA had formed a committee to identify the facts of the dispute. A three-member committee formed under the coordination of former Nepal Army chief and former player Victor Rana has already submitted its report to ANFA on Wednesday.
Nepal's draw in Qualifiers
Nepal is in Group A in the AFC Asian cup third round selection. Nepal's group includes Kuwait, Indonesia and Jordan. Nepal's group selection games will be held in Kuwait. Selection games that will be from 8 to 14. Nepal will start the selection by playing against Jordan on June 8. In the second match, Nepal will face Kuwait on June 11.Nepal will play against Indonesia on June 14.
Qualification Scenarios
The top teams of each group and the best second team of 5 groups will be selected in the Asian Cup 2023 to be held in China.
Nepal's Team:
Nepali team: Goalkeepers: Deep Karki, Bishal Sunar, Tikendra Singh Thapa Defense: Vikas Khawas, Vikas Tamang, Gautam Shrestha, Rajan Gurung, Shiva Gurung, Suman Aryal Midfielders: Akash Budha Chhetri, Eric Visht, Nirkumar Rai, Pujan Uparkoti, Roshan Rana Magar, Santosh Tamang, Sensehang Andambe, Sunil Bal, Suraj Jew Thakuri.