According to ANFA, Nepali team will travel Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand to prepare for the SAFF. ANFA has confirmed five friendly matches to be played abroad and a couple of matches are yet to be scheduled.
Nepali team will play its first friendly match against Philippines national team on October 11, three days after their departure from Nepal. The team will leave for Malaysia on October 13 and play a friendly against Olympic team (U-23) of Malaysia on October 15 and undergo a close camp training until October 24 in Malaysia. Similarly, the national team will also play two more matches with local clubs and other Malaysian teams during its stay.
The Nepali team headed by Graham Roberts will leave for Cambodia on October 25 and play a friendly against Olympic team of Cambodia three days later. On October 31, Nepal will play against Olympic team (U-23) of Thailand and against national team on November 3. Nepali team will also play some friendly matches with local Thailand teams.
Meanwhile, ANFA has declared a 21-member team for its abroad program including Nepal Police Club midfielder Ramesh Katuwal for the first time in the team. Except for him, the rest of the team members are the same as in the previous squad. Upendraman Singh is the assistant coach of Roberts.
Roberts opined that friendly matches were essential for the national team before international matches. “I am assured that the four-week long tour will be fruitful for lifting the confidence of players. The current target of the team is SAFF and it the will be very much helpful.”
Meanwhile, Nepal will host the 2012 AFC Festival of Football U-14 to be played among South Asian Regional teams. The festival to be held from May 10-25 in 2012 will be participated by Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan.
Selected players: Goalkeepers: Kiran Chemjong, Bikash Malla, Ritesh Thapa; Defenders: Bikash Singh Chhetri, Biraj Maharjan, Deepak Bhusal, Rabin Shrestha, Rohit Chand, Sagar Thapa (C), Sandip Rai; Midfielders: Anil Ojha, Bharat Khawas, Jagjeet Shrestha, Nirajan Khadka, Sujal Shrestha, Bhola Silwal, Ramesh Katwal; Forwards: Anil Gurung, Jumanu Rai, Ganesh Lawati, Santosh Sahukhala
Nepali team´s fixtures
Date Opponent
Oct 11 Philippines
Oct 15 Malaysia (U-23)
Oct 28 Cambodia (U-23)
Oct 31 Thailand (U-23)
Nov 3 Thailand
(Date for some friendly matches against Thai and Malaysian clubs to be fixed later)
Source:myRepublica.com
No comments:
Post a Comment