SAFF Championship: Nepal announces starting eleven to play against Kuwait

KATHMANDU: The starting XI of the Nepali National Football Team has been announced, on Wednesday, for the first match of the SAFF Championship.

The head coach of the Nepali team, Vincenzo Alberto Annese, announced the first choice under the captaincy of Kiran Chemjong for the match against Kuwait.

Nepal is competing against Kuwait, who are going to participate as an invited team, in the first match of the championship. The match will be held at Sri Kantireva Stadium in Bangalore, India, and will start at 3:45 PM Nepali time.

Eight teams, including two invitees, are competing in the championship this time. Although there are seven teams in the South Asian Regional Cooperation Organization (SAARC), this time due to FIFA’s ban, Sri Lanka is deprived of the opportunity to participate in the tournament.

The participating eight teams are divided into two groups. Group ‘A’ includes India, Pakistan, and Kuwait, along with Nepal. Group B has Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

Nepali team

Kiran Chemjong (captain, goalkeeper), Sanish Shrestha, Ananta Tamang, Rohit Chand, Bimal Pandey, Arik Bista, Pujan Uparkoti, Laken Limbu, Anjan Bista, Nawayug Shrestha and Manish Dangi.