KATHMANDU: Nepal’s women’s football team secured another emphatic victory in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, hammering Sri Lanka 8–0 in their second Group F match on Wednesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Captain Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ continued her phenomenal form, netting her second hat-trick in the campaign.
Geeta Rana added two goals, while Nisha Thokar, Rekha Paudel, and Puja Rana chipped in with a goal each. Nepal scored four goals in each half to complete the rout.
Defender Geeta opened the scoring in the 7th minute. Sabitra doubled the lead in the 20th, then scored again in the 42nd and in first-half injury time to complete her hat-trick before halftime.
In the second half, Geeta added her second via a penalty in the 54th minute. Nisha made it 6–0 with a header in the 62nd, Rekha added another header in the 78th, and Puja capitalized on a defensive error in the 89th to seal the win.
Nepal had defeated Laos 9–0 in their opening match, putting them atop Group F with six points and a goal difference of +17.
Nepal’s final and decisive group-stage match will be against hosts Uzbekistan. Should Uzbekistan defeat Laos later today, the Nepal–Uzbekistan clash will effectively become a winner-takes-all battle for qualification.
Only the group winner advances to the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, making Nepal’s final group match critical not just for continental qualification, but for entry into other major international tournaments.
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