Vietnam team unexpectedly faces difficulties due to protests in Nepal

More than 3 days have passed since protests broke out in Nepal, and the situation shows no signs of cooling down, threatening the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying matches involving this country.

Nepal lost 0-2 to Malaysia in the opening match of Group F - Photo: MAT

The wave of protests in Nepal's capital Kathmandu shows no signs of stopping, and will likely directly impact the country's 2027 Asian Cup qualifying schedule.

In the third qualifying round, Nepal was in the same group with Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos. After the first two matches, this team has not won any points, losing to Malaysia (0-2) and Laos (1-2) on away field.

According to the scheduled match schedule, Nepal will continue to visit Vietnam on October 9, before hosting Vietnam in the second leg on October 14.

However, this is just a tentative plan. The possibility of Nepal hosting any team at home in the next month is very low.

No other team has had to play all three of its first leg matches away from home like Nepal. The reason is that even before the protest, the South Asian country was assessed by the AFC as not having a stadium that meets the requirements to host continental matches.

Nepal's Dasharath National Stadium was rated poorly for its irrigation system, drainage system, unsafe entrances, and poor lighting, according to My Republica .

Because of the poor field conditions, Nepal has long been a special target of Asian football, often having to borrow fields from neighboring teams.

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Nepal hosted UAE at Saudi Arabia's stadium, and even borrowed Bahrain's stadium to play a "home" match against this opponent.

Nepal's Dasharath Stadium is located in the capital Kathmandu, which is engulfed in the flames of protests. Although there is still a month left, the possibility of Nepal restoring security and renovating the stadium in time is almost impossible.

Therefore, Nepal's plan to organize the return matches is confusing the AFC as well as the teams of Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos.

It is not impossible that Nepal will borrow stadiums from other Southeast Asian countries to host the tournament. And if so, the difficult situation will become an advantage for the Vietnamese team.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-bat-ngo-gap-kho-vi-bieu-tinh-o-nepal-20250910221544167.htm