KATHMANDU: The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has announced the final 23-member national women’s squad for the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Head coach Patrick De Wilde unveiled the squad on Friday, making a single change from the team that recently played a friendly match against Thailand.
Pratiksha Chaudhary, a defender from the APF Club, has been included in place of Sushma Tamang. This is Chaudhary’s first call-up to the senior national team.
Nepal is drawn into Group F alongside host nation Uzbekistan, Laos, and Sri Lanka.
Nepal’s campaign begins on June 29 against Laos, followed by a match against Sri Lanka on July 2. The final group match will be played on July 5 against Uzbekistan.
Only the group winner will advance to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, set to be hosted in Australia.
Nepal has previously qualified for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup three times — in 1986, 1989, and 1999.
The team is now aiming to return to the continental stage after 26 years, having failed to progress past the qualification round in 2022 in India.
Nepal’s squad:
Goalkeepers: Anjila Tumbapo Subba, Anjana Rana Magar and Usha Nath
Defenders: Geeta Rana, Nisha Thokar, Samikshya Ghimire, Manmaya Damai, Pratiksha Chaudhary, Bimala BK, Pooja Rana and Amrita Jaishi
Midfielders: Bimala Chaudhary, Anita Basnet, Renuka Nagarkoti, Preeti Rai, Saru Limbu, Sabita Rana Magar and Saraswati Hamal
Forwards: Sabitra Bhandari, Rashmi Kumari Ghising, Chandra Bhandari, Anita KC and Rekha Paudel
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