Nepal finalizes list, waiting to face Vietnam team

(Dan Tri) - On October 5, Coach Matt Ross officially finalized the list of 23 names in the Nepal team to go to Ho Chi Minh City to play two matches against the Vietnam team, within the framework of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Nepal's squad is essentially unchanged from the FIFA Days in June, when they lost 1-2 to Laos in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The Nepalese team is strongly rejuvenating its force, with the core being young faces. However, they still have a few experienced players playing abroad such as Kiran Chemjong (Bangladesh), Rohit Chand (Indonesia), Laken Limbu (Cambodia)...

Nepal team (blue) is not highly rated in group F (Photo: AFC).

The total value of Nepal's squad is estimated by transfer website Transfermarkt at about 1.9 million euros - nearly 3 times less than the Vietnam team.

According to the plan, the flight carrying the Nepalese team is expected to land at Tan Son Nhat Airport (HCMC) at 7:55 p.m. on October 7. Coach Matt Ross's team will have only one training session on the evening of October 8 at Binh Duong Stadium, which is also the venue for the match with the Vietnamese team on October 9.

This is clearly a big disadvantage for Nepal in the context that they are at the bottom of Group F after 2 consecutive losses.

On the contrary, the Vietnamese team has home field advantage and better preparation. Coach Kim Sang Sik and his team gathered on October 4 with 23 players (Quang Hai missed the match due to a shoulder injury), the goal is to win all 6 points in 2 matches against Nepal (October 9 at Binh Duong Stadium and October 14 at Thong Nhat Stadium) to compete for the top spot in Group F in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Currently, the Vietnamese team is ranked second in Group F with 3 points, equal with Laos but with a better goal difference. The leading team is Malaysia with 6 absolute points after 2 matches. However, the Malaysian team is facing the risk of being penalized with a 0-3 loss in the 2 wins over Nepal (2-0) and the Vietnamese team (4-0) because of falsifying the records of 7 naturalized players.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/nepal-chot-danh-sach-cho-doi-dau-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-20251005151147394.htm