Sports
Nepal-India friendly today
Nepal and India will lock horns on Tuesday during an international friendly at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai.Nepal and India will lock horns on Tuesday during an international friendly at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai.
The one-off friendly is part of both teams’ preparations for impending 2019 AFC Asia Cup Qualifiers. While Nepal host Yemen in their second Group ‘F’ match on June 13, India will host Kygyrzstan in their second Group ‘A’ fixture the same day. Nepal lost their first match 4-1 to hosts Philippines in Manila on March 28. Unlike Nepal, India made winning start to their Qualifying campaign by defeating hosts Myanmar 1-0.
Nepal will miss the services of their defender Rabin Shrestha and Bikram Lama for the India friendly. Shrestha is recuperating after recently undergoing a surgery to his damaged anterior cruciate ligament, while Lama was not included for the friendly as he is suspended for the Yemen game after receiving a red card against Philippines. Nepal’s Japanese coach Gyotoku Koji has included rookies Bimal Basnet and Hemanta Thapa Magar as their replacement.
Influential forward Nawayug Shrestha and midfielder Suman Lama, however, return to the national fold after missing out for the Philippines clash due to injuries. “We are missing a couple of national team regulars for the friendly. But its up to seniors to shoulder the additional responsibility for the India game,” said Nepal skipper Biraj Maharjan on Monday. “Of late, India have improved a lot and we must perform exceptionally well to beat them,” said Maharjan.
However, India will be a tough nut to crack given the past records. Nepal and the South Asian footballing powerhouse have met 18 times at senior level so far with India winning 12 times. Nepal have won just two times. The last time Nepal beat India was during the 2013 Saff Championship in Kathmandu. The game had ended in a 2-1 scoreline in favour of Nepal. The last encounter between the two teams came during the 2015 Saff Championship in Kerala, India, where Nepal lost 4-1.
Nepal Squad
Goalkeeper: Kiran Limbu, Bishal Shrestha, Bikesh Kutu
Defender: Biraj Maharjan (C), Ananta Tamang, Aditya Chaudhary, Kamal Shrestha, Devendra Tamang, Jitendra Karki, Bimal Basnet
Midfielder: Rohit Chand, Bishal Rai, Heman Gurung, Anjan Bista, Sujal Shrestha, Suman Lama, Hemant Thapa Magar
Forward: Bimal Gharti Magar, Bharat Khawas, Nawayug Shrestha