Posts

Showing posts from November, 2023

Nepal Super League finally kicking off

Image
After much speculation and suspense, the much talked about second edition of  the Nepal Super League, Nepal’s premier football tournament finally kicks off on November  24th in Kathmandu much to everyone’s delight. The wait for the second season of the franchise based  club football league  has been agonizingly long  and frustrating for franchises,players and sports enthusiasts. The first edition of the tournament was launched amidst unprecedented fanfare and publicity in 2021.  It brought hope  of changing the landscape of Nepal football by bringing a competitive game of professional football,in a true sense.  The  competition of this  magnitude is the first of its kind in the country.It was well received by the sports fraternity and in no time generated a lot of interest and excitement in people across the country. At a time when Nepal football needed a  professional league,the start of National Super League(NSL) was a major breakthrough and the best thing to happen.It  marked the da

Nepal needs optimum effort against Yemen

Image
The men’s national football team of Nepal  got  off to a losing start in the second round of the 2026 World Cup and 2027 AFC Asia Cup qualifiers in Doha, United Emirates Thursday. They went down to  heavy favorites the United Arab Emirates 0-4 as predicted.In fact,the final outcome did not come as a surprise. The hosts dictated play for the most part, but they were far from best.They relied on pace,power, physicality,short and long passes, coupled with individual flair,tactical prowess and technical superiority.   They put the game beyond the  reach of the opposition in the first half by scoring four  unanswered goals and ensuring themselves an easy victory in front of an expectant home crowd. Prior to the match the main point of interest was Team Nepal’s overall performance.The  one question on  everyone’s mind was; how competitive could they be?  The Nepali outfit did go down by a wide margin, but, by and large,they put in a spirited  performance especially in the second half. They 

Nepal must play with competitive mindset against UAE

Image
The men’s national football team of Nepal put on a decent performance against Laos in the  joint preliminary qualifications of the 2026 World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup  recently. After  playing a  somewhat disappointing stalemate against Laos  at home,Nepal managed to scrape through by a solitary goal in the away match. The victory ensured Nepal a place in the second round.Given  the struggle  the senior team has been going through lately,it was a relief to see them in the win column finally. The  second round  is going to be tough and challenging for Nepal as they face formidable opponents in the likes of the United Arab Emirates(UAE),Bahrain and Yemen in Group H.   Occupying 69th spot in FIFA rankings, the UAE is the highest ranked team in the group,followed  by Bahrain at 83rd. Likewise, Yemen and Nepal are lowly ranked  at 156 and 173 respectively.Going by the strengths,preparations and recent performances,the battle for the top position in the group is expected between the UAE an

CAN holds key to Nepal cricket future

Image
Oman upset the apple cart by prevailing over Nepal  in a nail -biting thriller to win the 2023 ICC Twenty20 Asian Qualifier in Kathmandu recently. With the teams tied in the allocated 20 overs, the match was extended  to super over,keeping the raucous and frenzied partisan crowd on the edge of their seats. At the end of the day, Oman held nerves, withstood pressure and  came out with flying colors. They  delivered the knockout punch to emerge victorious,silencing the massive home crowd. The winning  target for Nepal was 22 runs in the super over,but they fell short,scoring ten runs. Oman proved to be Nepal’s nemesis.They ended the tournament undefeated(the only team)and got the better of Nepal on two occasions,including the final. As winners and runners-up both Oman and Nepal  have qualified for the  2024 T20 World Cup  championship taking place in the United States and the West Indies. Expectedly the competition was a  success with every match drawing a large crowd. Nepal may not have