Nepal are taking on Friends of Japan in a charity football match at the Anfa Complex in Satdobato on Saturday. 

In a match that will mark the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relation between Japan and Nepal, Toda Kazuyuki will be the major highlight boasting an appearance in 2002 World Cup and a stint at the English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. 

The visiting Japanese team will be skippered by goalkeeper Nozawa Yohsuke, who holds J-League experience and plies his trades with Albirex Niigata, a top flight club in Singapore. 

Nepal have retained the same squad that claimed the AFC Solidarity Cup title in Malaysia on November 15. 

Kazuyuki and Yohsuke had both trained under Nepal’s current Japanese coach Gyotoku Koji and the duo are eager to win against his side. “He is a great coach and we trained under him during our early days in football. We will of course try to win against his side,” said Kazuyuki.

The tournament is jointly organised by Japanese Non Government Organisation Colorbath and All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) with the proceeds going to earthquake affected people and rebuilding of sports infrastructure damaged by the April 25 trembler.

Yohsuke empathised with the Nepali population hit hard by the earthquake. “We know how it feels to live under such fear because Japan witnesses the recurrence of earthquake. We are hopeful that a lot of people turn up for the game and we entertain everyone watching the match to ease their pain,” said Yohsuke.

Nepal coach Koji expected to get a tough contest despite the game being just for a charity. “Both of their key players (Kazyuki and Yohsuke) are really good. We are expecting to have a good game tomorrow,” said Koji. Nepal will be skippered by Anil Gurung, who only appeared for Nepal twice from bench during the Solidarity Cup. 

Gurung said he knows the importance of playing the Japanese side. “This will be a good opportunity for us to build a good relation between Nepal and Japan football. Since it is also a contest, we don’t want to lose the game by taking it lightly,” said Gurung. 

Kazuyuki had watched Nepal compete in the Solidarity Cup giving clear indications that they are aware of their opponents. 

“We watched Nepal play against Laos and Brunei. They play well and we are ready to entertain the crowd with our game,” the player-cum-coach said.