Nepal will play against hosts Bhutan in the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, which begins today in Thimphu, Bhutan.
The Group A match between Nepal and Bhutan will kick off at 5:45 PM (Nepali time) at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.
Having comfortably defeated Bhutan in two matches during the recent SAFF U-20 Championship held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nepal will enter the match with high morale. However, Bhutan will have the advantage of playing on home ground and with home crowd support.
Head coach Yam Prasad Gurung said that the SAFF U-20 and the AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualifiers are different competitions. He also emphasized that Bhutan, as the home team, should not be underestimated.
“Playing in SAFF and AFC qualifiers is different. Bhutan is playing at home. We respect Bhutan. They are improving day by day,” said Gurung. “They have crowd support and the advantage of home ground. We don’t consider them weak just based on the result of SAFF.”
Nepal had defeated Bhutan 6-1 and 8-0 in the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship. Similarly, Gurung said that Nepal would respect and play with equal seriousness against all three teams in the group.
Meanwhile, Bhutan’s coach Tanka Maya Ghale also said that her team is prepared for the qualifiers.
“We are ready for the qualifiers and all our players are positive,”she said. “We recently played the SAFF U-20 Championship and gained a lot of experience. By correcting our past mistakes, we hope to achieve a better result this time.”
