Nepal is stunned by Laos during the Asian Cup qualifiers
In the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers final round, Nepal lost 2-1 to Laos, their first loss. Laos gained three vital points, while Nepal dropped to the bottom of the standings. Vietnam and Malaysia both prevailed, however Nepal fell to Laos 5-0. Despite two goals from Laos, Nepal won 2-1 thanks to a penalty. Before leaving for Laos, Nepal played a friendly match against Hong Kong and ended up with a goalless tie. Striker Anjan Bista missed another chance to become the most-scoring player in Nepali history. He is still tied with Hari Khadka and Nirajan Rayamajhi with 13 goals.
The coach, Matt Ross, benched Sanish Shrestha, a defender who had started against Hong Kong. When Shrestha became injured, Ross replaced him with Yogesh Gurung. The final stage of the selection process is the Saudi Arabia 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifying. Six games are played by each team, both at home and away. A slot at the 19th Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia will be reserved by the six group winners. Manish Dangi, Laken Limbu, Bimal Panday, Kiran Chemjong, Anjan Bista, Rohit Chand, Arik Bista, Ayush Ghalan, Yogesh Gurung, Ananta Tamang, Suman Shrestha, and Bimal Panday.
