High on confidence after a stunning victory over Jordan, Nepal take on home team Kyrgyzstan in their second Group ‘B’ match of the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers here at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium on Friday.

But Nepal coach Upendra knows quite well that performance and not the confidence wins matches. While victory could ensure Nepal a berth for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship Finals, defeat could all but end the home team’s qualification hopes. Rejin Lama had scored a brace in Nepal’s 2-1 upset of the mighty Jordan, while Kyrgyzstan will be under a tremendous pressure to win after losing their first match against Oman 2-0 on Wednesday.

The winners from each of the 11 groups along with four best runners-up qualify for the Finals. India, who is also competing in the Qualifiers, have already qualified as hosts of the Finals.

The former Nepal goalkeeper-captain Singh said he is also under pressure to deliver good results after recent success of Nepal U-19 team, who lifted the Saff U-19 Championship.

Singh, who watched Kyrgyzstan vs Oman match on Wednesday, said his team has to play cautiously on Friday. “I saw them move them (Kyrgyzstan) pretty quick and their one-two passes were also quite accurate. But if we kept our own game, we can beat Kyrgyzstan,” said Singh.

Crowd factor could play a crucial role on Friday but Nepal coach said his boys should concentrate on their game. Around 7,000 home fans had turned up in their match against Oman and since Kyrgyzstan are in a must-win situation the number is expected to rise at the stadium.

Kyrgyzstan coach Samat Suimaliev is counting on the home advantage to beat Nepal and keep their qualification hopes alive. The game will be played in flood lights and the Kyrgyzstan coach said his team is used to playing in the conditions. He referred to his side’s Saff U-16 Championship semi-finals in India where they played well under lights against the home team.

Singh is likely to retain the same starting lineup that beat Jordan on Wednesday. Prajen Tamang will be under Singh’s radar after squandering early scoring chances against Jordan.

He was substituted after 30 minutes by Dinesh Henjen against Jordan. “On his

day, Prajen can easily dribble two or three opponents but he still has room to improve,” said Singh without indicating his intention.

Goalkeeper Arpan Karki, who made quite a few brilliant saves against Jordan, said: “If we play the way we did against Jordan on Wednesday, we can come up with another win for sure. We know that Kyrgyzstan are a tough opponent but we believe to come up with good performance.”