PREVIEW: Nepal U16 v Bangladesh U16

Dasharath Rangashala

Kathmandu

Poor Refereeing

The U16 national captain Heman Gurung took the responsibility on the losing as his spot kick on was comfortably saved by the Indian Keeper. Nepalese team were continuously under pressure as they were robbed in the dying moment of the match. The dreams of playing in the final were then shattered in the penalties. Two of the Nepalese players missed the kicks. The match was very physical and two of Nepal's players including the keeper had sustained the injury. Nepalese team and whole stadium were disgruntled with the referee's decisions. Indian team survived lot of occasion due to poor refereeing. The ANFA officials later discussed their frustrations on the officials. But the damage was done. 

Bright future for the boys: Graham Roberts

There was a massive support and environment inside the stadium and the stadium erupted with the first goal in the first third of the match. The national coach applauded the team for their performance whether they did not reached the final or not. The veteran English Player knows the life of a player and addressed that Nepalese young players have a bright future ahead in their footballing career. Nepal has been performing significant well but hasn't been able to turn them into trophies in recent past. But, we can still salvage the third place today.

Now Bronze medal on sights

Nepal will play today against Bangladesh in the third place playoff. Sadly both Nepal and Bangladesh have to meet on different match instead of the match for gold medal. The match between Bangladesh and Pakistan was also tight until the last 10 minutes. The Banglas conceded two goals between last ten minutes. It will be a tough match between the sides as they vie for the bronze medal today. Pakistan which was previously managed by Graham Roberts has been the only team to win all the matches in this tournament. The Pakistan Football Federation has announced a tour of England for training matches. This shows even the cricket nation is taking major steps in growing the footballing prospects and that is showing signs in U16 level too.

Best of Luck Nepal U16

By:Ram Gurung
Columnist, Nepalifootball.com

Incentive for Nepali football team

source:myrepublica.com

The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has decided to provide Rs 20,000 each to the players, coaches and officials of the football team representing Nepal in the Sixth South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship.

ANFA President Ganesh Thapa informed that the cash prize is being provided to encourage the team for their commendable performance in the regional event although they were not able to defeat the defending champions, the Maldives, and India.

Nepal had to be content with a 1-1 draw with the Maldives in the first match while they lost 1-0 to India in the second match.

“We deserved victory in both the matches but luck did not favor us,” said Thapa after announcing the incentive. He said, “This will boost the morale of the players as they face Afghanistan. Victory or defeat in a game is natural.”

Nepal crash out despite win

source:myrepublica.com

AJAY PHUYAL

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec 9: Nepal´s hope of entering into the semifinals of the ongoing SAFF Championship shattered on Wednesday following the defeat of four times champions India 2-0 at the hands of defending champions the Maldives.

With the win the Maldives advanced into the last four as the winners of group ´A´ while India, already qualified for semifinals, had to remain content as the runners-up of the group.

Despite a respectable win over Afghanistan Nepal crashed out from the group round for the fourth consecutive time. Afghanistan were bound to return home pointless.

Nepal extended their hope of entering into the semifinals for three more hours after the Pokhareli duo of Anil Gurung and Bijay Gurung helped Nepal beat Afghanistan 3-0 on Wednesday.

Anil, who was unable to put up a good show in the previous match, scored a brace while Bijay netted another. Anil, I-league forward of Shilong Lajong, scored a brace and Bijay netted the other to give new life to Nepali team´s effort to make it through to the semis. Anil had scored a goal against Pakistan last year in a friendly match in Pokhara and Bijay scored his second international goal. He scored his first goal against Bhutan in the fourth.

Nepal had to wait until the second-half to break the deadlock as the first-half of the match remained goalless. He scored in the 56th minute from the box utilizing a cross pass from Chetan Ghimire while Bijay added another ten minutes later. Bijay netted utilizing a ball that was missed by Jumanu Rai. Nepal needed only a goal to advance into the next round had India defeated the Maldives.

Anil scored his second and Nepal´s third goal of the match in the 72nd minute again capitalizing a cross pass of Chetan and beating an opponent defender. He sent the ball past the net in the second bar.

In all three matches of this edition of SAFF Nepal displayed good performance in the second halves only. Nepal leveled the match against Maldives in the second half after conceding a goal during the same half. Likewise, Nepal conceded a goal against India in the first half and were unable to make a comeback. Likewise, all three goals were possible against Afghanistan in the second half only.

In all the matches, Nepal´s performance remained forgettable in the first halves. In the first half against Afghanistan too Nepal´s performance remained dismal. Afghanistan nearly scored in the 10th minute of the match. The players lacked coordination in the first half. Jumanu missed another chance of scoring in the 70th minute. He had squandered another golden chance in the first half too.

Whatever may be the results, Nepal coach Krishna Thapa expressed satisfaction at the team´s performance. “We played well in the entire tournament. Jumanu´s goal was given offside against Maldives, which was unfortunate for the team,” Thapa said adding, “The loss against India too was our bad luck. We failed to utilize good opportunities. We were eager to come up with the same result as that of today in all our matches.

“Our team was unable to play for the whole 90 minutes in the beginning but the boys were given hard physical training this time. Therefore, we were able to play 90 minutes. We have displayed better performance in the second half and this could prove our level of fitness.”

Afghani coach Yousuf Kargar said that the team made defensive errors after Nepal came up with offensive game. “Our defense lineup was not well,” he said. “We aimed to gain experience from this match,” he added.

In the second match, Maldives netted one goal each in both halves against Indian team limited to 10 men during the last moment of the match. Ahmad Tarik opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Fajil Ibrahim netted another seven minutes before the final whistle. India were limited to 10 men in the 60th minute after Balwant Singh was slapped with a second yellow card.

India which had already booked a place for the semis played only for formality rather than for win. Indian coach Sukhbinder Singh had given rest to seven of his first choice players.

Maldives will take on Sri Lanka in the first semifinal while India will play against hosts Bangladesh in another match.

Nepal's fate hangs in balance

source: myrepublica.com

AJAY PHUYAL
Dhaka, 9 Dec 2009 - Nepal now only have slim chances of making it to the semifinal round of the Sixth SAFF Championship. However, nothing is impossible in football and Nepal will take on Afghanistan on Wednesday with the hope of booking a place for the semifinals.

Despite solid performance, Nepal, unable to get a clear result, now need to register a wide margin win over Afghanistan. However, the win over Afghanistan alone will not be enough as Nepal´s fate now depends on the match between defending champions Maldives and four-time champions India.

India have already booked a place for the semis from group ´A´ with six points from two matches while the Maldives are in second spot with four points. They played a 1-1 draw with Nepal and defeated new boys Afghanistan 3-1. Similarly, Nepal are in third place with one point and Afghanistan have not yet opened their account. Nepal lost 1-0 to India on Tuesday.

Maldives along with four points have plus two goals in their account while Nepal have minus one goal. Therefore, if Nepal beat Afghanistan by two goals in their last group match, then India also should defeat Maldives with the same goal margin for the result to be in Nepal´s favor. If India beat Maldives with the least margin, then Nepal must beat Afghanistan by a difference of at least three goals. However, if Maldives played a draw or beat India, then Nepal´s journey in the tournament would come to an end.

On Wednesday, Nepal have to play a match prior to the Maldives, which could be detrimental for the team.

Despite technically sound performance of Nepal, Afghanistan too have thrown a tough challenge to the opponents in their latest match. So, Wednesday´s clash will not be an easy task for the Nepali side. Nepal need to play for win with good margin to keep their hope afloat for the next round.

Looking back to history, Nepal have played with Afghanistan thrice and registered wide margin wins in two matches, while the other match ended in a draw. During the Asian Cup selection match held six years back in Kathmandu Nepal had defeated Afghanistan 4-0 and in the 10th South Asian Games (U-23) Nepal thrashed them 5-1. In Merdeka Cup, Malaysia, last year the match finished in a 2-2 stalemate.

Nepali team is optimistic that they would continue with their past domination against Afghanistan. “We are confident that we can defeat Afghanistan. To keep our hope alive we must win,” said Nepali coach Krishna Thapa. However, he is less optimistic about making it through to the semifinals. “Only Nepal´s win will not be sufficient; the match between India and Maldives should also be in our favor.”

Afghanistan will also play for win as they have yet to open their account in the points table. “Our chances of advancing into the next round have already ended. However, we will play for win as the match will be a matter of pride for us. I am sure we will win,” said Afghani coach Mohammad Yousuf Kargar.

Wednesday´s matches
Nepal Vs Afghanistan - 14:45 NST
India Vs Maldives - 17:45 NST


Bangladesh in semis

The hosts Bangladesh secured a place in the last four defeating Sri Lanka 2-1 as the winners of group ´A´ with seven points. Sri Lanka have already qualified for the semifinals with six points.

Midfielder Inamul Haque scored both the goals for the home team backed by a huge crowd of home supporters. He scored in the 8th and 66th minutes respectively. With these goals he has scored four goals in the tournament. Ibi Chana pulled one back in the 41st minute for Sri Lanka. Chana too has added four goals in his kitty.

Life difficult for Nepal after defeat

source: The Kathmandu Post

AJAY HAMAL

DHAKA, DEC 08 - Nepal's hopes of making it to the semifinals of the SAFF Championship suffered a huge blow after they succumbed to a narrow 1-0 defeat against India in Group 'A' matches held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka on Monday.

India, which is fielding a U-23 squad in the event, bagged their second win of the championship to qualify for the semifinals with six points. They had beaten Afghanistan by an identical scoreline in their first game. The regional giants went in front in the 17th minutes from Jibon Singh's header that came after Nepal custodian Bikash Malla parried a free kick charged from the edge of the penalty box.

Though India emerged as the winners, their performance looked inferior in front of the spirited Nepal team, which kept the Indian custodian busy creating a host of chances especially in the second half but returned empty handed in all occasions due to the lack of the composure in front of goal.

Nepal had their first crack on goals in the opening eight minutes when Raju Tamang's free kick from the left flank missed the target by whiskers. It was Sagar Thapa, who came agonisingly close to equalising in 31st minute but was unlucky to see his effort sail past the post. Anil Gurung was in the thick of things five minutes later in a one-on-one attempt but again had to return empty handed.

At the other end, India could have doubled their lead five minutes before the interval had it not been for Anjan K.C, who headed the ball to safety from the goal mouth after Malla was beaten.

Nepal upped their tempo after the first half dominating ball possession for almost the entire 45 minutes. The first real chance of the second half fell to Anil Gurung, who had a header denied by Indian goalkeeper. Jumanu Rai, Biraj Maharjan and Rohit Chand all came close to scoring in the second half.

The loss means, Nepal, with just a point to their credit, face an uphill task to make it to the next round as holders Maldives, the other member in the group grabbed a stunning come from behind 3-1 victory over Afghanistan in the first game of the day. Nepal will have to beat Afghanistan by a bigger margin should they qualify for the next round.

Nepal coach Krishna Thapa has already played down his team's chances of advancing. He said: “Nepal's road to next round has become more difficult because our last match against Afghanistan is ahead of the match between Maldives and India. Since India has already qualified to the semis there are chances India will take the game lightly.”

Speaking about the match, Thapa blamed the loss for the missed opportunities throughout the match.

SAFF Preview: Nepal - India

Nepal may turn the tables against India

source: myrepublica.com

Nepal have created an opportunity of entering the semifinals of the SAFF Championship for the second time. Nepal, who crashed out from the group stage for three consecutive times, now have the chance of making it through to the semifinals after they held the defending champions Maldives to a draw in the first match.

To materialize the dream of entering the semifinals, Nepal will take on South Asian powerhouse India on Monday. If Nepal succeed, they will be the first national team with strong chances of entering the semis in the SAFF after 1999.

In the second SAFF Championship held in Goa in 1999, Nepal had crossed the group stage. Nepal had defeated Sri Lanka 3-2 and lost to Maldives by the same margin. But in the semis Nepal lost to Bangladesh and in the playoff for third place they were again defeated by Maldives.

Looking back into history, Bangladesh always have been lucky for Nepali team in terms of results. In all the 11 clashes against the Indian team, Nepal have emerged victorious twice. Coincidentally, both of the victories Nepal achieved against India were in Bangladesh. The only one title that Nepal won was at the Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka in 1993. During the final of the sixth edition of South Asian Games (SAG) Nepal´s custodian Upendra Man Singh saved two penalties to lift the trophy. Then assistant coach Maheshwar Mulmi assumes the same role now.

Despite this, Nepal defeated India 3-0 in the AFC Challenge Cup. Pradip Maharjan struck twice and Basanta Thapa netted one in regular time. This is the only victory, which Nepal achieved in regular time against India. The Indian team was then represented by U-23 players and India have sent their U-23 player for the SAFF Championship this time as well.

“Our place for the semifinals will almost be secure after we beat India (the remaining match will only be a formality). I am very much happy about the team´s success in the friendly match in Kolkata and their performance against Maldives. I expect good show and results against India,” team coach Krishna Thapa said. Besides, the boys are confident. The reserved players are also in form, which is an added advantage, Thapa added.

Earlier, India had a hard fought 1-0 win over Afghanistan. Rather than technically, the Indian team is physically strong. Hit and run was the team´s strategy in its first match. Nepal´s technical match against them can turn the tables.

Indian coach Sukhbinder Singh said that the U-23 team was given a chance in the championship to prepare for future. “To prepare for the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China, next year and for the 2011 Asian Cup, the youth team has been brought here,” Singh said.

The senior team is undergoing closed camp training in India for the Asian Cup. “The youth players who display better footballing in this tournament will also be taken in the national team,” Singh said. He also believes that the team could perform well on Monday as the team has a good record against Nepal.

“Despite being young, the players are highly talented. We have expected a lot from the team. I believe that we could win the match with this team,” said Indian coach Singh, which has won the title four times.

Probable Nepali line-up
Bikash Malla (goalkeeper), Sagar Thapa (captain), Biraj Maharjan, Anjan KC, Rohit Chand, Bijay Gurung, Raju Tamang, Sandeep Rai, Chetan Ghimire, Anil Gurung and Jumanu Rai.

Nepal´s record against India
2nd SAF Games 1985, Dhaka: Nepal 0-2 India
3rd SAF Games 1987, Kolkata: Nepal 0-1 India
4th SAF Games 1989, Pakistan: Nepal 1-2 India
6th SAF Games final, regular time: Nepal 2-2 India (Nepal won in tie breaker after Upendra Man singh saved two penalties)
1st SAARC Gold Cup Football1993, Lahor: Nepal 0-1 India
7th SAF Games 1995, Madras: Nepal 0-3 India
13th Asian Games 1998, Thailand: Nepal 0-1 India
8th SAF Games 1999, Kathmandu: Nepal 0-4 India
4th SAFF Championship 2005, Karachi: Nepal 1-2 India
1st AFC Challenge Cup 2006, Chittagong: Nepal 3-0 India
5th SAFF Championship 2008, Maldives: Nepal 0-4 India

Nepal hold defending champions in draw

source: myrepublica.com

Dhaka, 05 Dec 2009 - Nepal´s hope of registering a victory over Maldives during the football match played at the Bangabandhu Stadium was dashed on Saturday. However, Bangladeshi referee Abdul Hanan Miron´s decision to declare Jumanu Rai´s goal as offside was not the only reason for Nepal to settle for a 1-1 draw against the defending champions Maldives.

Nepal deserved to win their first match of the Sixth South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship but the team missed lots of opportunities. Around 100 Nepali fans present at the stadium were disappointed when powerful shots of Bijay Gurung, Anil Gurung and Chetan Ghimire could not find the back of the net. However, Yogesh Shrestha´s ´Golden Debut´ at least saved Nepal from defeat.

Maldives took advantage of Nepal´s weak defense to net a goal after a depressing goalless first half. Ahmed Tariq scored the first goal with the help of a cross from Jamil Mohammad. Tariq utilized the opportunity to score a one-versus-one goal from the box in the 61st minute as he remained unchecked by the Nepali defenders.

Maldives seemed obvious to win the match after the goal as they had dominated the entire first half but Nepal didn´t delay in equalizing the score. Coach Krishna Thapa´s decision to replace Yogesh for Bijay was worthwhile as he helped score a goal in his debut match. Jumanu headed a pass from Yogesh into the net in the 69th minute. This was Jumanu´s seventh international goal and his third in the SAFF Championship.

Earlier, Bijay and Anil had missed an opportunity each to score in the first half. Bijay´s good shot missed the post by a little margin while Maldives´ goalkeeper Mohammad Imran saved a powerful shot by Anil. Anil made a mistake by not passing the ball to Chetan Ghimire as there were no defenders near the post.

Nepal were unexpectedly able to keep Maldives under pressure in the second half as Nepal created four good opportunities to score in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Chetan´s shot from Anjan´s pass missed narrowly in the beginning while his second attempt in the 52nd minute was blocked by Maldives´ defenders. Sandip Rai´s long shot went a few inches above the post. Nepal could not record a glorious victory as Anil Gurung´s powerful shot just before he was replaced by Santosh Sahukhala did not enter the net. But Yogesh´s debut helped Nepal put a brake on a series of defeats from Maldives since 1999.

Maldives had taken Nepal lightly as they had defeated Nepal 4-1 a year ago in their home ground. With this draw, Nepal were able to upset not only Maldives but other teams as well.

“We did not look at Nepal as a weak team but our players like Ali Ashfaque couldn´t perform well. The next match will tell which team is better,” said Maldives´ coach Istavan Urbanyi.

Nepal´s Rohit Chand was assigned to check Ali Ashfaque, who was a Asian Player of the Year 2008 nominee. Ashfaque couldn´t perform well as Rohit fulfilled his responsibility properly. Accepting the fact Urbanyi said, “Other players should have used the opportunity while Ashfaque was under strict marking, but our players couldn´t.”

Nepali coach Thapa was satisfied with the performance of the team but was disappointed with the result. “We should have won the match as the players had fared well, but the referee´s decision was unfair today,” he said. Thapa claimed that Jumanu´s second goal was not offside.

SAFF Preview: Nepal - Maldives

source: myrepublica.com

Dhaka, 05 Dec 2009 - Nepal´s goalkeeping coach Upendra Man Singh is likely to walk down the memory lane during the Sixth SAFF Championship to be held in Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka, on Saturday. As a goalkeeper, Upendra had saved two shots from India in the tie-breaker in the semifinals to lead his team to victory during the Sixth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games 16 years ago. Now Upendra hopes to revive his glory days as the coach of the Nepali team.

Perhaps none of the teams want to compete with a tough opponent like Maldives in the first match of the Sixth SAFF Championship, but Nepal´s chief coach Krishna Thapa is least worried as he was the player who scored two goals against Maldives during the First SAF Games in which Nepal had won the match 4-0. The coincidence of these two former players standing together as coaches might turn lucky for Nepal.

As five editions of the SAFF Championship have already ended, Nepal are still waiting to win the title of the biggest regional football event of South Asia. Although the league matches in the home ground have come to a halt for the past three years, the Nepali football team is in fine fettle.

The morale of the team is high after winning two warm-up matches in India before their arrival in Dhaka. Nepal defeated India´s famed club Mohun Bagan 3-1 and Bhutan´s national team 2-1in Calcutta. This alone is not the reason for Nepal´s confidence. The experience of Jumanu Rai and Santosh Sahukhala as professional players in the Maldives is also a boost-up for Nepal. Nepal´s main forward Jumanu returned from the Maldives after three months´ professional career in All Youth Linkage while Santosh will play from the bench. These two players are well aware of the playing mode of the Maldives players. In addition to this, Anil Gurung who is currently in India´s I League Club Shillong Lajong, has the experience of playing in big matches.

Nepal are in Group A which has been given the name “Group of Death” as three times SAFF Champions India and defending champions Maldives and Afghanistan are also placed in the same group. Nepal will compete with Maldives in the first match on Saturday. Maldives -- another contenders likely to win the title -- have not taken Nepal seriously. This might be helpful for Nepal to win the match.

“We defeated Nepal with a wide margin last year and we will continue with the winning streak,” said Maldivessoccer.com´s journalist society quoting the Maldives´ Hungarian coach Urbanyi Istvan Bela.

Nepal had lost 4-1 against the home team Maldives last year in Male. The Maldives team led by Asian Player of the Year 2008 nominee Ali Ashfaque was able to win two out of three practice matches held in the past two weeks. The team defeated Malaysia´s national team 1-0 in the first match and 4-1 in the second match while they lost 2-1 against Korean Club Ulsan Hyundai. Ali scored five goals in the three matches, including a hat-trick against Malaysia.

Nepali team will keep a close eye on Ali in order to win the match. “We will keep a strict marking on Ali,” said coach Thapa adding, “Maldives have some talented players but we are united as a team. Our aim is to win the title.”

Nepal to wear blue jersey in the first game

KATHMANDU, Dec 5: Nepal´s team will have to wear blue jersey in two matches during the SAFF Championship.

According to the toss result of the manager meeting held on Thursday, Nepal will wear blue jersey in the first match against the Maldives and during the last match against Afghanistan.

Nepal will wear the favorite red jersey while facing India in the second match, informed South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) member and All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) Vice Chairman Kumar Jung Thapa.

Hots Bangladesh and Sri Lanka won

source: myrepublica.com

05 Dec 2009 - Hosts Bangladesh won the inaugural match of the Sixth SAFF Championship at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka on Friday thrashing Bhutan 4-1.

Bangladesh took the lead in the 11th minute with Pronotos Kumar Das´ goal. Mohammad Inamul doubled the lead 12 minutes later. Bhutan´s Nawang Chiring returned a goal one minute from time in the first half through a penalty. Inamul widened the gap scoring another goal in the 52nd minute while Mohammad Hassan sealed the match in the 72nd minute.

In another match, nine-man Sri Lanka registered a hard fought 1-0 victory over Pakistan to open their accounts with three points. The only goal of the match came in the 25th minute through an easy spot kick off WA Chatura Gunaratne.

Our target is to beat Maldives - Nepal coach

source:maldivesoccer.net

Nepalese national team coach, Krishna Thapa has said that their main target is to win the game agains Maldives and to top the group. The coach also said that they have made the plan for the game against Maldives.

“It would be a tough game against Maldives. But our target is to win the game against Maldives and to top the group. We can win the game against Afghanistan and India with their Under 23 we have the confidence to beat them”

“Winning the game against Maldives is the top priority. Our players have the knowledge of Maldives national team. So we would use their knowledge and it seems Maldives national team has key two to three players”

“If we can block them, then we have a very good chance of scoring against Maldives”

Nepalese national team has been practicing for the tournament for a month and coach Krishna Thappa believes that they are fully ready for the tournament.

“The time we got to prepare is limited, but I am happy with the practices and the preparation for the tournament”

“We had three games and we won those games. The qualities of the Indian teams are almost the same as the Nepal national team and we managed to beat the top Indian team as well. Some people might believe that when we beat Bhutan by a single goal, we are not that good. But the reality is that they have improved a lot compared to before”

Nepalese coach also said that he has very limited information about Maldives national team and he did not see any games of the team. Krishna Thapa has been appointed as the head coach of the Nepal national team recently and he believes that the game would be almost the same as the game employed by his predecessor Thomas Flath.

“I have never met Thomas, but we would employ the same style of passing game and I am confident that we would perform good results”

Krishna also said that he believes that Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh are the hot favourites to win the competition.

Nepal win second friendly

source: myrepublica.com

29 Nov 2009 - Nepali football team, preparing for the Sixth SAFF Championship, continued their winning streak in the second friendly practice match on Sunday. Nepal defeated Bhutan 2-1 during the friendly played at Mohammedan Sporting Club, Kolkata.

The first half of the match remained goalless. However, Bhutan surprised Nepal early in the second half and took the lead. As Nabil Three Star´s winger Bijay Gurung fouled the opposition in the D-box, Bhutan won the chance of spot-kick. Pasang Tsiring scored to keep Bhutan ahead.

Nepal, who have never lost to Bhutan in international football, were under pressure. However, Indian League side Shillong Lajong´s Nepali striker Anil Gurung scored and leveled the match. Anil passed the ball into the net as defender Biraj Maharjan provided a good pass.

Bijay earned the winner for Nepal 10 minutes before the final whistle. Bijay scored with a spectacular shot from just outside the penalty box. Nepal Police Club´s forward Chetan Ghimire´s pass was utilized by Bijay to clinch victory for Nepal.

Nepal were earlier scheduled to play the second friendly match against I-league club Chirag United on Monday. However, the match was postponed for some unspecified reason. Nepal, nonetheless, got the chance to play against Bhutan.

Nepal had defeated I-league club Mohun Bagan 3-1 on Thursday in their first practice match. Nepali team will leave Kolkata on Wednesday to participatein the SAFF Championship being held in Dhaka from December 4 to 14.

Nepal, drawn in the group of death, will take on defending champion Maldives, four-time champions India and physically tough Afghanistan in their group.

Nepal win friendly against Mohun Bagan

27 Nov 2009 - Nepali national football team registered a 3-1 victory over Mohun Bagan, an Indian outfit, in the friendly match held in Kolkata on Friday. The Nepali team is in Kolkata to play two friendly matches in India as a preparation for the upcoming 6th SAFF Championship to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 4-14.

Nepal came from one goal deficit against Bagan, the runners up of I-league´s 2008/09 edition, to keep their morale high. Striker Jumanu Rai netted a brace before Anil Gurung leveled the scoring.

Anil leveled in the 43rd minute for Nepal through penalty after conceding an early goal in the 17th minute by Branco Cardozo. Nepal were awarded with a penalty after the Indian side played foul against Jumanu inside the box. Likewise, Jumanu added another in the 55th minute through a powerful shot from the box to give Nepal a 2-1 lead.

Jumanu scored once more a minute before the final whistle to seal victory for the team. Jumanu narrowly escaped missed the chance of completing his hat-trick as he missed a one-versus-one chance in the stoppage time.

Coach Krishna Thapa, satisfied over the team´s performance, said, “Boys displayed excellent footballing though we conceded an early goal. As I have told that striking line is our greatest weapon, the boys proved it today."

Coach Thapa had made a slight change in the team formation as striker Chetan Ghimire was brought in the midfield in the first 11 squad.

Before the match, both the teams held a minute of silence to mark the death of former football player Narendra Man Singh.

Nepali line-up: Jumanu Rai, Anil Gurung, Bijay Gurung, Sandeep Rai, Raju Tamang, Chetan Ghimire, Anjan KC, Rakesh Shrestha, Sagar Thapa, Biraj Maharjan and Bikash Malla.

Footballers off to India; cash rewards announced

source: myrepublica.com

Kathmandu, 26 Nov 2009- The ANFA advisors present to bid farewell to national team at the ANFA Complex on Thursday for 6th SAFF Championship to be held in Dhaka from December 4-14 have decided to provide a cash prize of Rs 100,000 each to 27 member team if the team win the championship on behalf of Partners of Nepali Football, Partners of Pride.

Anil Shah, Nabil Bank CEO made such a pledge speaking on Behalf of ANFA advisors. Shekhar Golcha and CP Khetan are other advisors.

The team left for Kolkata, India on Thursday to play practice matches with Indian League outfit Mohan Bugan on Friday and Chirag United on Monday. They will be leaving for Bangladesh on December 2.

The Partners of Nepali Football, Partners of Pride is any institution set up by the ANFA advisors. However, it is an open ended institution where any corporate house can join to support football and footballers in Nepal. Likewise, they have also declared to provide a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each to the members of the squad if they cross the group stage and if they win the semifinals they will be provided with Rs 40,000 each.

Motivating the players to win the championship Shah said, “You are the best players across the nation and you can bring collective smile in the faces of 30 million people of the nation by winning the championship.”

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Youth and Sports Gopal Tiwari Nepali said that he was confident that the team will win the match. He also expressed his wish to go Bangladesh to watch the football match.

Nepal is pitted in group ´A´ along with Maldives, India and Afghanistan while the host Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are drawn in group ´B´.

Team coach Krishna Thapa said that the first match against Sri Lanka was vital for the team. “The first match against Sri Lanka will be the major challenge for us. India won´t pose a threat for us as they are fielding inexperienced players (U-23) and Afghanistan won´t be very tough for us as they are new in the tournament.”

“Besides this, we have good line up of strikers -- Anil Gurung, Jumanu Rai and Santosh Shaukhalal have got the ability to alter the match at any moment. Our defense line up could be better if Rohit Chand could adjust in the defending line-up.”

Actor Rajesh Hamal, National Sports Council member secretary Hari Babu Chaudhary, ANFA officials among other bade farewell to the team amidst Nepal Police musical band. The band team also played national anthem music to motivate the players to put up a good performance.

Nepal´s match scheduleDecember 5: Maldives VS NepalDecember 7: India VS Nepal December 9: Afganistan Vs Nepal

Football not foreign to superstar Rajesh Hamal

source: myrepublica.com

Kathmandu, 26 Nov 2009 - Popular actor Rajesh Hamal expressed confidence that Nepali football team would perform well in the SAFF Championship. Bidding farewell to the players before they left for the regional event scheduled for December 4-14 in Bangladesh, he also shared his sports experience with myepublica.

A few days before the 1998 World Cup began, Hamal, in a TV program, was asked which country he thought would win the World Cup. “France is progressing a lot in football and also being the hosts may win the World Cup,” replied Hamal. His words became prophetic. And France won the World Cup.

“Any game is influenced a lot by the players´ spirit. This sentiment was instrumental in France´s victories in World Cup and European Championship,” he said.

Hamal developed a fascination for football during his schooldays in Europe, where he traveled along with his diplomat father. He spent a long time in Russia and then moved to West Germany and the US. Though, it was in Russia where he became an avid viewer of FC Dynamo.

Hamal was in Russia when Pele played World Cup for Brazil in 1970, which he watched live on TV.

He was in West Germany during the 1972 Munich Olympics when the terror strike took place against the Israeli players. While in Moscow, Hamal didn´t miss the opportunity to watch some European League matches in the stadium. But he didn´t find the same craze for football in the US, where baseball was more popular.

He watched the 1986 world cup graced by Argentine player Maradona on television in Kathmandu. Nepali youths then were blind supporters of Maradona, recalls Hamal. “Nepali youths took Maradona as their idol maybe because his height resembled that of the Nepali people,” opined Hamal.

He used to play a lot of ice hockey when he was in Russia. After a long time when he went to Simla in India, the snow covered landscape reminded him of his childhood and he opted for skiing. He felt that skiing was like cycling -- one never forgets it once learnt.

When asked how much he played football during his youth days, Hamal countered, “Is there anyone who hasn´t played football while studying in school and college?” adding, “I played in my country and abroad but I didn´t think of pursuing it as a career.”

Hamal never misses to play football matches that are organized occasionally for charity. He put up an impressive show in a match held few weeks ago at the Dasharath Stadium in which celebrities played against journalists. After the match, spectators surrounded him for almost half an hour. He said that though he watched all the matches played by the Nepali team under the captainship of Raju Shakya, he hasn´t been able to watch any of the matches recently.

Claiming that he has good ties with the popular player of his time Ganesh Thapa, he recalled, “We have stood in the same stage together.”

He suggested that India´s development in sports might be worth considering for Nepal. “It takes a long time to develop the standard of football but it doesn´t take much time for it to fall,” he said.

Hamal said that he hasn´t played football since a long time while he acted for the advertisements of Captain Soap and in the film ´Chatyang´.

Hamal who is eagerly waiting for the World Cup which will be held next year in South Africa claimed, “Nepali football team will spread the message of national unity in Bangladesh at a time when the nation is in political imbroglio,” adding, “ If we play with the spirit that we can win, we will definitely come up with good results in Bangladesh.”

Rajesh Hamal to bid farewell to footballers

source: myrepublica.com

Kathmandu, 25 Nov 2009 - The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has invited actor Rajesh Hamal, instead of the regular preference of political figures and ministers, for the farewell of the national football team on Thursday.

Along with Hamal, Minister of Youth and Sports Ganesh Tiwari Nepali, National Sports Council Member Secretary Haribabu Chaudhary and ANFA officials will bid farewell to the players at ANFA Complex, Satdobato. ANFA Vice Chairman and Spokesperson Lalit Krishna Shrestha said that Hamal was invited to boost the morale of the players.

The Nepali team is leaving for Kolkota on Thursday for practice match before the Sixth SAFF Championship. Nepal will play the practice match with I League´a 5th position holders Mohun Bagan on Friday and 3rd position bearers Chirag United on Monday next week.

The team will leave for Bangladesh after the practice matches to participate in the SAFF Championship, which will be held from December 4-14.

Friendly matches in Kolkata

source: myrepublica.com

Kathmandu, 22 Nov 2009 - Nepali football team, which is preparing for the Sixth SAFF Championship, is all set to play friendly matches in the Indian city Kolkata.

They will head to Kolkata on Thursday and play two friendly matches on Saturday and next Monday. However, the opponents are still to be fixed.

According to All Nepal Football Association´s CEO Indraman Tuladhar, Nepali team is visiting Kolkata after former coach Shyam Thapa arranged for the practice matches.

Pradeep, Vishad left out of team 20-member football squad named for SAFF

source: myrepublica.com

Kathmandu, 23 Nov 2009 - Midfielders Pradeep Maharjan and Vishad Gauchan have been excluded from the national football team for the upcoming sixth SAFF Championship.

National coach Krishna Thapa did not name the Nabil Three Star Club duo in the 20-member squad that was announced amid a press conference at the Dasharath Stadium on Monday.

“Pradeep is facing fitness problem,” Thapa said. “He tried hard to recover but could not. Therefore we left him out.”

Thapa claimed that Vishad missed out training sessions and he could not uplift his game standard.

Both Maharjan and Gauchan had debuted in the national team in the Fourth SAFF Championship held in Karachi, Pakistan, against India in 2005.

The team named on Monday has two goalkeepers. Three coaches with the team, Thapa, Maheshwar Mulmi and Upendra Man Singh picked up Nepal Army´s Bikash Malla and Nepal Police Club´s Ritesh Thapa for the job.

Other two keepers in competition -- Kiran Chemjong and Rupesh Shrestha -- missed the chance for inclusion in the team. “Kiran missed training sessions and Rupesh is physically unfit,” added Thapa.

The team consists of seven defenders and seven midfielders. Friends Club´s Nurraj Kafle is out of the team due to injury. Robin Shrestha, Rakesh Shrestha, Sagar Thapa, Biraj Maharjan, Anjan KC, Chun Bhadur Thapa and Rohit Chand complete the defense line-up.

The midfielders selected in the team are Sandeep Rai, Raju Tamang, Bijay Gurung, Bhola Nath Silwal, Yogesh Shrestha, Ranjit Shrestha and Nirajan Khadka.

Youngster Nirajan Malla missed out the forward spot due to injury and Bikarna Shrestha was not named for disciplinary reasons. The forwards named in the team are Anil Gurung, Jumanu Rai, Santosh Sahukhala and Chetan Ghimire.

“Ganesh Lawati is a laborious player but he could not make it to the team because he had tough competition with other sharp strikers,” explained Thapa.

Thapa claimed that the team is strong in midfield and forward line-up and that the national squad is superior to Afghanistan and India.

“We will play as per opponent,” he said. “Against the team like the Maldives with whom we have 50-50 chance, we will try to mark talented players and score.”

Nepali team is heading to Kolkata on Thursday for two practice matches. The sixth edition of the SAFF Championship is being held in Dhaka on December 4 -14. Nepal will face the Maldives, India and Afghanistan in the group matches.

28 footballers selected

source: myrepublica.com

Kathmandu, 9 Nov 2009 - A list of 28 players was finalized on Monday out of the 48 football players called for the first phase training by All Nepal Football Association for selection for the SAFF Championship. Among them, 20 will be finalized after two weeks for the regional football tournament to be held in Bangladesh from December 5-15.

Monday´s selection includes four goalkeepers, nine defenders, nine midfielders and six forwards, said team coach Krishna Thapa.

Bikash Malla, Kiran Chemjong, Ritesh Thapa and Rupak Shreshta are the keepers. The defenders include Rakesh Shrestha, Sagar Thapa, Biraj Maharjan, Anjan KC, Chun Bahadur Thapa, Nur Raj Kafle, Robin Shrestha, Rohit Chand and Yogesh Shrestha.

Likewise, the midfielders are Sandeep Rai, Bishan Gauchan, Bijay Gurung, Nirajan Khadka, Ranjit Shrestha, Raju Tamang, Dipendra Shrestha, Bhola Silwal and Pradip Maharjan. Similarly, Jumanu Rai, Bikarna Shrestha, Santosh Sahukhala, Ganesh Lawati, Nirajan Malla and Chetan Ghimire are the forwards. Nepali striker Anil Gurung who is currently playing in the Indian league will also be included in the second phase after he returns home this week.

Nepal to start SAFF c'ship against defending chamions Maldives

26 Oct 2009 - South Asian Football Federation yesterday revealed the fixtures of the sixth edition of the regional football meet. Nepal will begin their SAFF Championship campaign taking on defending Champions Maldives on 5th December.

All 15 matches including the semifinals and final will be played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium with two matches of the group stage to be played each day from December 4 to 9. Both semifinals are scheduled for December 11 while the final will take place on December 13.

Nepal have been drawn in Group A along with India, Maldives and Afghanistan. Likewiese, host Bangladesh have been placed in Group B along with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bhutan.

50 footballers called for national team camp

Kathmandu, 22 Oct 2009 - All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) called 50 players for the preliminary training camp for the Sixth South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship on Wednesday. The football governing body also handed over the responsibility of coaching the team to Krishna Thapa and Maheshwor Mulmi.

But the responsibilities of two senior coach is still undecided.

ANFA wrote to clubs with the names of the players and requested to send them for the training from Sunday.

Nabil Three Star Club tops the chart as 14 of its players are called. Anjan KC, Lokbandhu Gurung, Pradeep Maharjan, Yugal Kishor Rai, Santosh Sahukhala, Sandeep Rai, Sanjib Budhathoki, Prabin Karki, Anil Ojha, Bikash Singh Chhetri, Surendra Tamang, Kiran Chemjong, Bijay Gurung and Visad Gauchan are the club´s players called for the camp.

Likewise, 10 players, along with Captain Rakesh Shrestha, are called from Nepal Police Club. Ritesh Thapa, Rabin Shrestha, Suman Subedi, Bhola Silwal, Jumanu Rai, Dipen Shrestha, Yogesh Shrestha, Roshan Karki and Chetan Ghimire are other police personnel for the training camp.

Seven players of NRT - Biraj Maharjan, Sagar Thapa, Ranjit Shrestha, Anil Gurung, Laxman Ruchal, Suvash Rai and Khum Gurung - were called along with custodian Bikash Malla, Chun Bahadur Thapa, Raju Tamang, Santosh Nepali, Biswa Bairag Samal and Bikarna Shrestha from the Nepal Army Club.

Likewise, Dipak Bhusal, Nirajan Khadka, Rupak Shrestha, Nuraraj Kafle, Pukar BK, Shisir Adhikari and Bharat Khawas of Friends Club as well as Santosh Gurung, Dipak Rai, Dilip Chhetri of RCT are also called in the team. Ganesh Lawati, and Amir Shrestha of APF and Shekhar Limbu of Boys Union are also in the fifty-member list.

Nepal is in the tough group of the tournament scheduled to be kick off on December 5 in Bangladesh. Nepal have to take on defending champion Maldives, four time winner India and physical power Afghanistan.