Nepal is all set to compete in the final qualifying round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) on Tuesday confirmed the report that Nepal, who had already crashed out from the first round of the joint 2018 Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup, were handed the berth in place of Guam, who withdrew from the event. The Anfa sources said Nepal was handed the opportunity following their victory in the AFC Solidarity Cup in Malaysia. Nepal had clinched the trophy by defeating Macau 1-0 in final in Kuching. Beaten Solidarity Cup finalists Macau are also in line to replace suspended Kuwait in the qualifiers.

The final round of qualifiers—to be held in the United Arab Emirates—for the 24-team 2019 tournament offers a total of 12 berths in the final and begins in March next year. The teams will be divided into six groups with four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the tournament proper. Apart from Nepal, Jordan, Oman, Philippines, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, India, Palestine, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Bhutan are the teams in the final qualifying round. The draw of the qualifiers has been scheduled for January 23, 2017. 

The 12 teams from the qualifiers will join hosts the UAE, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran and China in the tournament proper. Nepal last took part in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in 2004 where heavy defeats against South Korea, Oman and Vietnam saw them skip the event altogether until a change of format forced them to compete again.