ANFA announces Nepali team for World Cup qualification

Kathmandu: All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has unveiled a 23-player roster for the preliminary stage of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Tomorrow, Nepal will engage in the first leg of the preliminary round against Laos at Dashrath Stadium, commencing at 5:30 PM.

Vincenzo Alberto Enesse, the head coach of the Nepali National Football Team, introduced the 23-member squad, featuring newcomers Amrit Shrestha and Sanjeev Bista.

Amrit Shrestha, a defender from Himalayan Sherpa Club, and Sanjeev Bisht, a forward from Newroad team, are making their debut in the national team.

The final selection was made from a pool of 25 players undergoing closed training. Notably, goalkeeper Anil Deula and defender Chiring Lama were not included in the team.

Chiring had previously played in the friendly match against Myanmar. Likewise, forward Navayug Shrestha, who was part of the team against Myanmar, is not included this time.

Next week, Nepal will face Laos in the second leg of the qualifying match, adhering to the home and away format, at the same venue. The victor of this match will progress to the second round of World Cup qualifiers.

The Nepali national football team’s roster includes three goalkeepers: Kiran Kumar Limbu, Deep Karki, and Abhishek Baral.

The defendors lineup comprises Sanish Shrestha, Anant Tamang, Ashish Gurung, Rohit Chand, Anjan Rai, Ashish Chaudhary, and Amrit Shrestha.

In the midfield, the team has Eric Bisht, Sudeep Gurung, Laken Limbu, Awas Lamichhane, Utsav Rai, Kritish Ratna Chunju, and Manish Dangi.

For the forward positions, the squad features Anjan Bista, Ayush Ghalan, Gillespie Jung Karki, Dinesh Henjan, Hishub Thapalia, and Sanjeev Bista.