Nepal must get off to a winning start against Sri Lanka

The South Asian Football Federation Championship is right around the corner. The national teams of South Asia sans Pakistan are gearing up to duke it out for the prestigious trophy.

The region’s best and brightest talents will be in action when the competition kicks off in Trivandrum, Kerala in India.

The million-dollar question is, who will emerge victorious? Of course, you want your team to win. We can only speculate on the result based on teams’ performances and achievements in recent years.

I will say though, I will be very surprised, if India or Afghanistan fails to win the championship.

Afghanistan

Defending champions Afghanistan playing for the last time and   host India desperately trying to reclaim success start   the tournament as   overwhelming favorites.

Afghanistan have had a meteoric rise in recent years. Their convincing championship victory over India in the last South Asian Football Federation   Championship (SAFFC) in Kathmandu was by no means a flash in the pan. They proved that they are a rising force in football.

The Afghan squad consisting of home grown and foreign-based players has great depth, promise and individual brilliance. The physical advantage, pace, doggedness and aggression makes them a very dangerous side.

They are determined to sign off on a triumphant note and the team to beat. They are in a tough group along side Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan but they should be able to handle them.

Of course, it is not going to be easy or a cakewalk and can expect a fierce fight from the opponents.

Bangladesh & Maldives

Past champions Maldives and Bangladesh are not too far behind in the race and love to prove critics wrong. As a matter of fact, they cannot and should not be written off.  They are dangerous outfits and capable of producing results and performances that counts.

They must be at their very best to get the desired result. That said, they   have struggled and looked   a spent force, especially Bangladesh, over the years. They need a solid performance and must overcome   inconsistency and struggles.

Maldives has enjoyed decent success as of late and gained respect as a good team. They will be the team to watch.

Should both   Bangladesh and Maldives show consistency and put their act together, they stand a chance to upset the apple cart.

Bhutan

Although Bhutan has been playing positive brand of football lately and tremendously improved their FIFA rankings, they still carry the underdog and dark horse tag.  

Their confidence has grown by leaps and bounds, and they are playing inspired football   like you have never seen before.  

Their win over Sri Lanka in both home and away games in the World Cup qualifiers   speaks volumes of their dramatic surge in international football.

It is no exaggeration to say that they are the most improved side, and we can expect plenty of fire works from the talent -packed side.

India

India strong contender to lift the trophy has everything to lose. They are under pressure to perform well and reassert their domination over the competition.

They have the home field advantage and a relatively weak   group along side Nepal and Sri Lanka. Without a doubt, they have a far easier passage to the semi-final.

India’s international showing has been listless and unimpressive of late. The shock loss to rank outsiders Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers tells the whole story.  They did beat Guam   at home but have lost five   matches so far

Right now, they are beatable and certainly not an overpowering   formidable outfit.

Sri Lanka

Speaking of Sri Lanka, they share striking similarities with Nepal in terms of FIFA rankings, slumping performance and sorry state of football.

The Islanders once a force to reckon with in South Asian football today looks a pale shadow of an average team.  

It is beyond imagination that the past SAFFC champions has fallen and sunk so low. Two consecutive   defeats at the hands of lowly Bhutan in the recent World Cup qualifiers exposed their epic struggle.

The SAFFC poses a big challenge for the Lankans but have a big chance to rebound with a strong showing.

Nepal

The 1993 South Asian Federation Games in Bangladesh was a golden year for Nepali football. I witnessed Nepal’s famous victory over India to clinch the gold.  But since

then, it has been all down hill.

In Trivandrum, they will look forward to end the long title drought. Can they? Honestly speaking, it appears improbable but not impossible.  Sorry for my pessimism. It is what it is.

Nepal squandered the best chance in 20 years   to win the 2013 SAFFC held in Kathmandu. They have yet another opportunity, but the challenge is bigger than ever. 

With four debutants - Amrit Chaudhary, Navin Lama, Yogesh Gurung, Heman Gurung and Nawayug Shrestha   in the squad, once again expectations are high.

We have to be realistic and our expectations should not be too high.   Unquestionably, the team has been hit hard by the absence of key players and dogged by poor preparations.

Old/new players must step up their game and fill in the void.  Offense still remains the Achilles Heel, but the new concern is the defensive transition that is in progress.

Going by the team’s   shortcomings, I feel the 4-4-2 formation is the best option. A thought only.

The loss to Bangladesh in the recent friendly is a reminder to Head Coach Patrick Aussems that his team needs a very strong, resounding performance to make an impact on the tournament.

The team faces an acid test and has plenty of work left to do, tactically and technically.  The failure to score goals has been our biggest problem. The big question is, whether skipper Anil Gurung, Bimal Gharti Magar, &Anjan Bista have the ability to score.

The coach might have to regret for not selecting prolific goal scorer Karna Limbu. I was somewhat surprised that the selectors ignored him once again. He certainly deserves a chance.

It is very important for players to remain one hundred percent focused, positive, and composed throughout the composition and not get overconfident and carried away.  They must let their foot/performance do the talking, instead of their mouths.

Nepal’s opener against Sri Lanka   is crucially important for their progress in championship.  They must get to off to a winning start at all cost. 

There is virtually no room for mediocrity and sloppiness.  On the other hand, a defeat would spell total disaster.

I know it is not going to be easy, but they stand a good chance of succeeding. At the end of the day, it comes down to living up to expectations, coupled with consistent good performance and delivering the goods.

A semi-final berth would be quite an achievement for Team Nepal.