On July 11, the football ground of Dasrath Stadium was occupied with faces that were new in the Nepali football fraternity. Many of them had entered the Dasharath Stadium, Nepal’s only international football venue, for the first time. But, they were more excited than nervous. They were jumping, diving and kicking the balls.
Those new faces were members of Nepal’s newly formed U-20 football team preparing for two international competitions—SAF U-20 Championship scheduled to be held from July 25 to August 5 and AFC U-20 Asia Cup Qualifiers to be held from September 10 to 18.
While the football-governing body, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has been training 30 players, 23 will be selected for the U-20 football final squad. These 30 players were also very carefully selected from around 700 applicants.
It means ANFA has invested a lot of time and energy to form the new U-20 football team as it has a lot of expectations. So, will they live up to the expectations?
A prudent pick
Previously, the U-19 and U-20 football players used to be selected from the Lalit Memorial U-18 Championship, in which the age-group players of A division clubs would play.
But, this time, due to the Covid pandemic, the event could not take place. Hence, the All Nepal Football Association, the football governing body, was compelled to select the players from an open competition. Subsequently, many new faces got a place in the Nepal U-20 football team.
Likewise, the U-20 football team coach Megh Raj KC is also confident about the players selected among 700 applicants. KC believes that the open selection has not only changed the pattern of selecting players but it has also provided an equal opportunity to all talented footballers.
Among the 30 being trained, only seven players including Ayush Ghalan have played representing Nepal earlier. Ghalan has even played for the senior national team also.
“But, all the players are equally talented; there is a good team combination among all of us,” says Ghalan. “For now, our major target is to win SAF and qualify for AFC U-20 Asia Cup.”
Ghalan, who had never been to the age group so far, believes his experience in the senior national team will also remarkably help in the upcoming international championships. He is confident about the performance of his teammates.
The ‘best team ever’
The enthusiasm people showed during the selection process made coach KC realise that the culture of football is growing rapidly in Nepal. He says the open selection has made a lot of footballers believe that if they have potential, they can even play for the nation. Footballers who are from diverse backgrounds and places have participated in the U-20 football team selection process.
Earlier, KC was not much confident about the reliability of the open selection. But now, he is optimistic about the team. “I cannot assure whether the team will succeed or not, but they will perform outstandingly,” says KC.
There are some reasons why KC believes so. Currently, the Nepali football followers consider Ghalan as one of the most talented players in the team due to the experience he has received in the last couple of years. Further, KC says everyone is as talented as him.
“Definitely, Ghalan has performed well for Nepal in a short span. He has been a role model for many and proved himself as well but for me, everyone in the team is like Ghalan,” he says. “But, after watching them play, you will also get the same feelings as mine regarding other players. Hopefully, some of them will even be promoted to the senior level national team.”
“Everyone is working hard, we are optimistic about the match result,” he adds.
Challenges galore
While KC is optimistic about the newly formed U-20 football team, he also has challenges. The team have not been able to evaluate the performance of the opponent teams. KC says the players have not got a chance to look at the performance of the opponent teams because similar to Nepal, the opponent countries too have not organised age-based football matches.
It means the U-20 football teams are preparing for the tournament without knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents.
Nonetheless, KC says the national team have already identified their strength. “Overall, all our sides are strong. The team have a strong fighting spirit. The best thing about our players is the teamwork,” says KC.
So, will the young men make their coach happy? Only time does have the answer.
