KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 19
The All Nepal Football Association President Karma Tsering Sherpa said the men's national team would face Australia in the return leg match of the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers match on March 30 at the Dasharath Stadium.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the National Women's League at the Dasharath Stadium, Sherpa said the date was confirmed by the international bodies recently.
He also said the match against Chinese Taipei was postponed due to international travel restrictions imposed by the governments of various countries. "We are set to host Australia on March 30 and the match against Chinese Taipei is postponed for now," said Sherpa. The match against Australia will be sixth for Nepal under the joint qualifiers after the event was suspended due to coronavirus pandemic.
Out of the five matches played in 2019, Nepal recorded one win and faced four defeats. Nepal suffered a 7-0 loss at hands of Kuwait in the first leg match in Kuwait City before losing 1-0 in return leg match played in Bhutan after the ANFA could not host the home match at Dasharath Stadium which was devastated by 2015 earthquake.
Nepal beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 before facing a 5-0 defeat against Australia and a 1-0 loss against Jordan.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 20, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
