Sports
Nepal name squad for Yemen tie
Nepal announced a 20-member final squad for their last Group ‘F’ match against Yemen at the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers to be played at the neutral venue in Doha on March 27.Nepal announced a 20-member final squad for their last Group ‘F’ match against Yemen at the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers to be played at the neutral venue in Doha on March 27.
Already eliminated from qualifying race, Nepal trimmed the team against the standard practice of naming 23-member squad. Nepal had fielded 23 players when they played host to Philippines in their second leg game on November 14. Sixteen players were retained from the Philippines match. Midfielder Suman Lama, defenders Devendra Tamang and Aditya Chaudhary and goalkeeper Alan Neupane were called up for teh have made comeback into the team.
Missing out from the last team were former captain Anil Gurung, who announced retirement after the Philippines match, and midfielder Jagjeet Shrestha, who is in Australia. Midfielder Bikram Lama recuperating after undergoing operation to his leg which he broke during the Budha Subba Gold Cup in Dharan, while Bharat Khawas is illegible to play for a double yellow cards. Defenders Jitendra Karki and Kamal Shrestha as well as midfielder Rajendra Rawal have picked injuries while third choice goalie Bishal Shrestha was replaced by Neupane.
Nepal had only three-day full squad training among 30 players called for the camp due to the various knockout tournaments played across the country of late. The selection was made on the basis of players performance in those tournaments. Past performances were also taken in consideration, said assistant coach Raju Shakya. “Head coach (Gyotoku) Koji had been monitoring those tournaments and some new faces were also called up for training,” said Shakya. “We were unable to train for a longer period due to the busy domestic schedule,” added Shakya.
Nepal lie bottom of the four-team standings with two points from five matches. Remaining three teams—the Philippines, Yemen and Tajikistan-are all in hunt for two spots available for the finals to be played next year in the United Arab Emirates. Nepal played 0-0 draw against Yemen in the first leg on home soil. The other point Nepal earned was during their last match against Philippines, which they played 0-0 draw at home before losing 4-1 at away match in Manila. Nepal have lost 3-0 away to Tajikistan and 2-1 at home.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Kiran Chemjong, Bikesh Kuthu, Alan Neupane
Defender: Biraj Maharjan, Ananta Tamang, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Rajin Dhimal, Devendra Tamang, Aditya Chaudhary
Midfield: Bishal Rai, Rohit Chand, Heman Gurung, Hemanta Thapa Magar, Sujal Shrestha, Sunil Bal, Suman Lama, Anjan Bista
Forward: Nawayug Shrestha, Bimal Gharti Magar, George Prince Karki