Nepal’s Three Star Club are taking on Erchim FC of Mongolia in their first match of the AFC Cup Qualifying Playoffs at the Mongolian Football Federation grounds on Sunday.

The clash between the National League champions of the two countries will be crucial for both teams with relatively weaker opponents Nagaworld FC of Cambodia awaiting them in the second and final group game of three-team pool. Only the winners from the group will qualify for the next round.

Erchim FC are familiar foes for Three Star who defeated them during the 2012 AFC President Cup Qualifiers before playing a draw in the finals. Three Star coach Meghraj KC, however, wanted to leave the history behind them and start afresh. “We have played against them (Erchim) but a lot of things have changed, including the set of players between the two sides. So, we don’t want to say anything right now,” said KC.

“We are here to qualify for the next round and we will remain focused on that. There will be a home ground advantage for Erchim but we are capable of overcoming them,” said KC adding his team will go with a 4-4-2 formation for the game. Three Star skipper Vikram Lama said his team would go for a victory against the local outfit.

“We need to play a flawless game and we will try to do that. We are not aware about our opponents but our focus will be to return with victory against both the teams,” said Lama on the eve of the match. Three Star team comprises of seven footballers who play for the national team, while Erchim have 10 players from their national side.

The match will be played in an artificial turf which will be an advantage for Three Star who had played the National League and conducted training sessions on the artificial turf at the Anfa Complex. Erchim has been bringing good results in the domestic league and their coach Zorigtyn Battulga was confident in winning both games.

“We have monitored both of our opponents and its time to deliver on the ground. We have completed all our preparations and we are raring to go,” said Battulga.

SQUAD