Nepal easily defeated Chinese Taipei in the sixth match of the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023. Anjan Bista and Navayug Shrestha scored goals to give Nepal a 2-0 victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAhGqA2manw
Nepal got a penalty in the third minute of the match. Anjan Bista scored a goal from the penalty spot to give Nepal the lead. In Santosh Tamang’s free kick, Nepal was awarded a penalty after the opposition player handed it inside the penalty area. This is Anjan’s third goal in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
In the second half, coach Abdullah Almutairi replaced Ashish Lama with Manish Dangi. In the 52nd minute, Santosh was hit from just outside the penalty area. In the 66 th minute of the match, Nepal maintained its lead when it hit a free kick by Taipei just outside the penalty area.
In the 80 th minute of the match, Manish Dangi single-handedly pushed the ball forward and the shot bounced off the post. Less than a minute later, Navyug Shrestha, who entered the field as an alternate player, doubled Nepal’s lead. Suman Aryal’s cross from inside the penalty area on Anjan Bista’s pass was converted into a goal by Navayuga in the first touch to give Nepal a 2-0 lead.
Coach Almutairi made two changes to the order from the game against Iraq. Sunil Bal and Ashish Lama replaced Navyug Shrestha and Manish Dangi. Goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong and center defense Rohit Chand and Ananta Tamang got continuity.
Suman Aryal in left back and Gautam Shrestha in right back have started ahead of Dinesh Rajbanshi. In midfield, Pujan Uparkoti is accompanied by Santosh Tamang and Suman Lama and in attack, Anjan Bista is supported by Ashish and Sunil Bal
With this victory, Nepal has secured the fourth position in the group stage of the World Cup qualifiers. Nepal’s chances of entering the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers are also alive. Nepal has 6 points in 6 games with 2 wins and 4 losses. Winning Chinese Taipei has no points in 6 games. Australia added 12 points in 4 games while Jordan and Kuwait have 10-10 points in 5-5 games. Australia and Kuwait are competing in the second match to be played today.
After playing a friendly match with Iraq, the Nepali team left for Kuwait. According to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), Nepal is scheduled to play the second match against Jordan on June 7 and the third match against Australia on June 8. Abdullah Almutairi is the coach of the Nepali team.
