Asian Cup Qualifiers Nepal names final squad against Vietnam

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 6: Nepal has named its 23-member squad for the third round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, where the senior men's national team will face Vietnam in a two-legged tie on 9 and 14 October.

Both matches—home and away—will be played in Vietnam. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) declared Nepal’s Dasarath Stadium unfit due to poor infrastructure and safety concerns, causing Nepal to lose its hosting rights for the second leg.

Head coach Matt Ross finalised the squad by dropping 10 players from the initial 33-member group called into closed training on 23 September.

Four players who featured in the international friendly against Bangladesh on 6 September—Amit Lama, Aditya Shakya, Samir Tamang, and Tikendra Thapa—were also left out of the final squad. U-23 national team members Santosh Khatri (midfielder) and Nirajan Dhami (striker) have not made the final squad.

Returning to the team are goalkeeper Bishal Sunar, defenders Bimal Pandey, Sanish Shrestha, and Sumit Shrestha, along with attacking midfielders Kritishratna Chhunju and Ayush Ghalan. All six were part of the squad during the qualifier against Laos.

Sanish had picked up an injury during the Bangladesh match, while Sumit, Kritish, and Ayush were in Tajikistan for the U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.

In their previous qualifiers, Nepal suffered a 2–1 defeat to Laos, followed by a 2–0 loss to Malaysia. With two consecutive defeats, Nepal currently sits at the bottom of Group F.

Only the group winner will qualify for the 19th edition of the Asian Cup, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027. The team is set to depart for Vietnam on Tuesday.

Squad: Kiran Chemjong (GK), Avishek Limbu, Ananta Tamang, Anjan Bista, Arik Bista, Ayush Ghalan, Bimal Pandey, Bishal Sunar (GK), Deep Karki, Dinesh Henjan and Gillespye Jung Kari, Kritish Ratna Chhunju, Kushal Deuba, Lakan Limbu, Mani Kumar Lama, Manish Dangi, Rohit Chand, Rohan Karki, Sanish Shrestha, Subas Thakuri Bam, Sumit Shrestha, Suman Shrestha and Yogesh Gurung.