Kathmandu, September 2:

Nepal will face Asain football powerhouse Japan in AFC U-17 Championship at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore, on Sunday.

Nepal is pitted against another stronghold South Korea and hosts Singapore in Group ‘A’. Nepal will meet Korea on September 5 before taking on Singapore two days later. Top two teams from the group will advance to the last eight.

Chetan Ghimire, who scored three goals (two against Kyrgyzstan and one against Uzbekistan) in the first round in Kathmandu in November last year, is doubtful for the opener. Chetan is recovering from ankle injury.

Three practice matches against Saudi Arabia, Yeman and Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur last week has helped gain confidence in players. Nepal lost to Yeman 2-1, led 1-0 in the first half before going down 1-3 to Saudi Arabia and fought back to a 2-2 draw against Malaysia.

Nepal made it to the final qualifying round after defeating Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the qualifying tournament at home.