Nepal lose to Kuwait in Thimpu

Kathmandu, November 19

Nepal faced a 1-0 loss at the hands of Kuwait in the return leg match of the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimpu today.

Nepal were forced to play the home match in Bhutan after the Asian Football Confederation did not approve Dasharath Stadium, which is under reconstruction for the 13th South Asian Games scheduled for December 1-10. Kuwait skipper Bader Al Almotawaa scored the solitary goal of the match in the first half. Nepal had faced a 7-0 loss against Kuwait in their first away match of the campaign in September.

Kuwait put Nepal under pressure from the beginning but it was the home team that made first move. Abhishek Rijal failed to meet a sublime cross from Ravi Shankar Paswan inside the penalty box in the 15th minute, while the striker shot well above the bar from inside the six-yard box following a cross from Sujal Shrestha eight minutes later.

Against the run of the play, Kuwait took the lead in the 28th minute. Skipper Almotawaa comfortably dodged a defender inside the penalty box and slotted home as Nepal goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong made a desperate dive in vein. Nepal came close to levelling the scores in the 41st minute but Kuwait goalkeeper Hameed Youssef made a brilliant diving save to deny Rohit Chand’s attempt after being fed by Bikram Lama inside the box following a corner kick from Tej Tamang. Tamang got a chance in rebound but he ended up with a wayward shot.

Nepal dominated the second half with superior ball possession but that also did not help Nepal’s cause. Kuwait did created a couple of opportunities but they were denied by Chemjong’s brilliance in front of the goal. Nepal head coach Johan Kalin brought in Nawayug Shrestha and Subash Gurung to bolster the attack with five minutes remaining but it was too late for them to find the equaliser.

Nepal lacked the services of four players — Bimal Gharti Magar, Anjan Bista, Santosh Tamang and Dinesh Rajbanshi — who were ousted from the squad hours before leaving for Bhutan after they were found to have violated the team rules. According to All Nepal Football Asssociation, they were out of the team hotel until late night on the eve of the team’s departure to Thimpu.

Nepal assistant coach Kiran Shrestha was satisfied with the team’s performance. “The boys did very well on the pitch with positive attitude. We should have at least gained one point from the match but we failed to capitalise on the chances. We will work more on the mistakes we made today and will focus on the remaining matches,” said Shrestha.

With their fourth loss in five matches, Nepal are at the fourth position in the five-team Group B with three points. Australia lead the standing with 12 points from four matches, while Kuwait accumulated 10 points from five matches. Jordan are third with seven points, while bottom-placed Chinese Taipei are yet to open their accounts.

Nepal will now face Chinese Taipei and Australia in March next year before playing against Jordan in June. The Dasharath Stadium is expected to be ready to host the three remaining home matches.

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