The Nepal national football team will take on Vietnam today in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The match will be held at Go Dau Stadium, Vietnam, starting at 6:15 PM Nepal time.
Vietnam is considered a stronger team compared to Nepal. According to FIFA rankings, Vietnam is currently 114th, while Nepal is 176th. This match marks the first encounter between Nepal and Vietnam since 2003, when Nepal lost both matches—5-0 in the first game and 2-0 in the second.
Today’s match will be an away game for Nepal. Similarly, the match scheduled for October 14, which was supposed to be held at Nepal’s Dasharath Stadium, will also take place in Vietnam as the stadium was deemed ineligible by the AFC.
A 23-member Nepali squad, led by captain Kiran Kumar Limbu, has traveled to Vietnam. The team members are:
Kiran Limbu (captain), Abhishek Limbu, Ananta Tamang, Anjan Bista, Eric Bista, Ayush Ghalan, Bimal Pande, Bishal Sunar, Deep Karki, Dinesh Henjan, Gillespejng Karki, Kritikarath Chhunjyu, Kushal Deuwa, Laken Limbu, Manikumar Lama, Manish Dangui, Rohit Chand, Rohan Karki, Sanish Shrestha, Subash Thakuri Bam, Sumit Shrestha, Suman Shrestha, and Yogesh Gurung.
In the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers so far, Nepal has lost both of its previous matches, 2-0 against Malaysia and 2-1 against Laos. Meanwhile, Vietnam has played two matches with one win and one loss, losing 4-0 to Malaysia and defeating Laos 5-0.
The match today is crucial for Nepal to gain momentum in the qualifiers and improve its standing in the group.
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