Kathmandu, February 20
Nepal will play its second match of the International Women’s Championship against Lebanon today. The match will kick off at 6 pm at Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar.
Earlier in the day, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan will compete in their second match at 2 pm. In the opening matches, Myanmar defeated Lebanon 3-1, while Nepal secured a 1-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan.
Nepal aims for a consecutive win against Lebanon to secure a place in the final. Both Nepal and Myanmar, having won their first matches, will advance to the semifinals with another victory today.
Nepal’s head coach, Rajendra Tamang, has stated that the team will play for a win against Lebanon. Among the four competing teams, Lebanon ranks the lowest, while Kyrgyzstan was considered a weaker side. However, both teams put up a fight in their first matches.
In Nepal’s victory over Kyrgyzstan, winger Bimala Chaudhary scored the only goal, but the forwards struggled with finishing. Nepal will look to improve on its weaknesses and deliver a stronger performance in the second match.
Lebanon’s head coach, Wael Gharzeddine, hinted at changes in his squad after their opening loss to Myanmar. Three Lebanese players, who arrived in Kathmandu on Monday after playing in foreign leagues, did not feature in the first match but are likely to play today.
Nepal and Lebanon have faced each other only once before, in the WAFF Championship in Saudi Arabia last February. In that match, Nepal defeated Lebanon 2-1 in the semifinals, with Puja Rana’s own goal giving Lebanon an early lead before Nepal staged a comeback. Sabitra Bhandari equalised in the 76th minute, and Preeti Rai scored the winning goal in injury time.
