KATHMANDU: As many as 36 players have been selected for the Nepal national football team to participate in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup-2019 to be held in Philippines in March this year.

The Nepal national football team head coach, Gyotoku Koji, shared that the squad comprises 23 players from the team who won the AFC Solidarity Cup held in Malaysia last November.

Nepal will play against the Philippines in the opening match of the AFC Asia Cup on March 28.

The players chosen are Rabin Shrestha, Biraj Maharjan, Ananta Tamang, Deepak Gurung, Aditya Chaudhary, Bimal Gharti Magar, Bishal Rai, Rajan Bista, Anil Gurung, Heman Gurung, BK Ram and Kamal Shrestha.

Other players selected include Anjan Bista, Sujal Shrestha, Kiran Limbu, Suman Lama, Nawayug Shrestha, Devendra Tamang, Bishal Shrestha, Bharat Khawas, Rajendra Rawal, Ranjit Dhamal, Ellen Neupane, Karna Limbu, Yubaraj Khadka, Rabi Pashwan and Bishwa Adhikari.

The selection team includes Bimal Pandey, Sunil Bal, Jitendra Karki, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Rohit Chand, Hemanta Thapa Magar and Bimal Basnet.

A total of 24 teams, divided into six groups, are vying for 12 spots in the finals to be hosted by the UAE.

Every two teams scoring the highest in each group will be selected in the AFC Asian Cup.