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With two successive defeats, Nepal has exited from the 2018 Under-23 Asian Football Confederation qualifiers.Uzbekistan’s 2-0 victory sent the South Asian minnows packing out of the competition. Fans must have breathed a sigh of relief because at least they did not get to see a bewildering scoreline like in the opener against UAE this time. But the scoreline does not tell the full story. Like in the opening match Nepal was largely outplayed and forced on the back foot for the most part. The winners squandered a host of really good scoring chances. They lacked clinical finish and were thwarted with some stubborn defending and good goalkeeping. Nepal did put in a much-improved performance, no doubt, but was far from their best.Both the defense and the custodian were kept on their toes in the entire match as the opposition desperately looked for quick goals. It was frantic defending and goalkeeping all the way to the end.To be fair, unlike the previous match, they did a pretty g...

The prospect of Nepal making a dent in the 2018 Asian Football Confederation  Under-23 qualifiers has been put to rest, following a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the United Arab Emirates. Honestly speaking, the defeat was no surprise, but the manner in which they lost is hard to fathom and is a huge disappointment.I did not expect Nepal’s performance to be so unremarkably mediocre and lethargic,  and  I was surprised to see them get overwhelmed by the occasion, to say the least. Without a doubt, it was a lackluster and sloppy play all the way to the end, and they had to pay a heavy price for it ultimately. There is no excuse for the heavy defeat. I don’t buy Coach Raju Shakya’s excuses for the lopsided loss. He cited weather  conditions as one of the main factors for the defeat. The fact is that his side  failed to live up to expectations and lost to a far superior team.There is no shame in losing to a side that put in a polished and dominant perform...

Yet once again, die hard football fans have another international competition featuring Nepal to look forward to.This time they are cautiously optimistic about the team’s success. Never mind the odds heavily  stacked against them, but the encouraging thing is that players are in a positive frame of mind, looking confident and determined to find success. Nepal will be in action in the 2018 AFC Under-23  Championship qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates(UAE).In the Group D matchups, Nepal will battle against in the likes of the UAE, Uzbekistan, and Lebanon for a place in the next round. No one can dispute the fact that an acid test awaits Nepal as they face tough opponents. In other words, it will be a true test for our young booters who are eager to prove critics wrong.The big question then, is will the team deliver? Obviously, the UAE and Uzbekistan start favorites and are the teams to beat. They appear well geared up for the challenge.As part of the prepara...

We cannot deny the fact that the national football team of Nepal’s performance against Yemen in the  Asian Football Confederation Asia Cup qualifiers played in Kathmandu recently was far from desired. At the end  of the day, it turned out to be just another game and a damp squib. Surely, a win would have been the ideal result for  Team Nepal seeking their first three points of the competition. Instead, not only did they fail to take home advantage but barely managed to avoid embarrassment and salvage a laborious draw. To be fair, the players did everything they could, however, fell  well short of their goal. They exhibited plenty of   fighting spirit , grit and never give up attitude, which  largely helped them  survive the  crucial  game. On the other hand,  they  admittedly struggled  quite a bit  with the mental and physical aspect of the game. The same can be said  about the technical and tactical...