Nepal national football team

The Nepal national football team represents Nepal in International men's football and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Nepalese football team play their home games at Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Nepal women's national football team.

Nepal
Nickname(s)The Gorkhalis
AssociationAll Nepal Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachBal Gopal Maharjan
CaptainKiran Chemjong
Most capsBiraj Maharjan (75)
Top scorerHari Khadka
Nirajan Rayamajhi (13)
Home stadiumDasarath Rangasala Stadium
FIFA codeNEP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 171 (10 December 2020)[1]
Highest121 (December 1993 – February 1994)
Lowest196 (January 2016)
First international
 China 6–2 Nepal
(Beijing, China; 13 October 1972)[2]
Biggest win
   Nepal 7–0 Bhutan 
(Kathmandu, Nepal; 26 September 1999)[3]
Biggest defeat
 South Korea 16–0 Nepal
(Incheon, South Korea; 29 September 2003)[2]
SAFF Championship
Appearances12 (first in 1993)
Best resultThird place (1993)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2016)
Best resultChampions (2016)
Bangabandhu Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1999)
Best resultChampions (2016)

History

Origins (1921–1963)

Football in Nepal had been a national sport as early as 1921 during the Rana dynasty. Several clubs were formed and several domestic tournaments such as the Ram Janaki Cup (1934), and the Tribhuvan Challenge Shield (1948) were organized. In 1951, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) was founded, and this saw the formation of the Nepal national football team.

Emergence (1963–1970)

In 1963, Nepal appeared in their first international away game in the Aga Khan Gold Cup; the predecessor of the President's Gold Cup, Asia Champion Club Tournament, and Asian Club Championship (now rebranded as the AFC Champions League) after various associations (including ANFA) insisted on entering national teams instead of clubs.[4] After Nepal entered an 18-man squad, ANFA flew the players to Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to play their first match. Nepal faced Western Railway, a Pakistani team in the Bangabandhu National Stadium. However, the match was lost 0–7. Two days later, Nepal played the Dhaka Wonders, a local East Pakistani team. Though this match was also lost 0–7. After two disastrous games, Nepal was sure to be knocked out of the preliminary round. The final game was against Dhaka Police Club, though, despite the previous heavy losses, Nepal managed to win the game with a single goal. The goal scorer, Prakash Bikram Shah, became the first Nepali to score on foreign soil.[5] The goal took place at the 19th minute.

Modernisation & golden generation (1970–1999)

In 1970, Nepal became a member of FIFA. Two years later, Nepal joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). With this, Nepal played their first international match on 13 October 1972, where they lost 2–6 to the People's Republic of China. The first Nepali footballer to score the first international goal for Nepal in a FIFA-recognized tournament was Y.B Ghale. Ghale scored against Kuwait in the 1982 Asian Games. Despite the popularity of the game, the lack of appropriate footballing infrastructure and the dearth of trainers, technicians, and other facilities have always been obstacles in the way of the Nepalese FA's endeavors to raise the standard of football among the players of a nation that has an official per capita income of just The woes of Nepalese football, however, have been immensely relieved by FIFA's determination to promote football in Nepal through youth programs.

In the mid-1980s, FIFA provided financial assistance and sent a number of coaches to help Nepal's federation to launch its first youth program, which was geared towards spotting talent at the grassroots level (such as in schools, for example) and providing young players with the necessary know-how, both on and off the pitch. The initial five-year plan helped half the players groomed under the first youth program to find a place in the national side, and the team that won the 2 gold medals in the first and sixth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games mostly consisted of the players from that youth programme. Despite Nepal being considered among the lower-ranked nations, Nepal has been largely successful in the South Asian Games where they won two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.

Nepal hosted several notable friendlies from teams outside the Asian Confederation during the mid to late 80s, against Denmark in 1986; USSR and East Germany in 1987; and West Germany in 1989.[6] While at the same time, Nepal still entered tournaments against club sides such as FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast in the 1989 ANFA Cup.

Nepal continued on with their winning ways through several minor tournaments which saw the nation showered with titles including the 1997 and 1998 Governor's Gold Cup, winning gold at the 1993 South Asian Games, and reaching 3rd place in the 1993 South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup (the first edition of the SAFF Championship).

Decline (2000–2009)

The Nepali football came across a forgettable two years from 2001 to 2003 when the row between two factions (government-backed and FIFA-backed) led Nepali football into deep trouble. Nepal faced a ban and therefore could not participate in any events and the rankings slipped heavily. The dispute was settled, but not before it contributed to pushing Nepali football backward. Nepal celebrated their 100th international football match in January 2003 when they played Bangladesh in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. Nepal failed to make any real impact at the tournament. During its 22 years of international participation, the Nepalese team has only played 26 nations outside of South Asia, but it has defeated all of the country's South Asian neighbors during various regional tournaments. Nepal also faced non-AFC teams in competitive tournaments such as Ghana U23 in the 1999 Bangabandhu Cup, and Kazakhstan in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign (although Kazakhstan was a member of the AFC during this match).

Despite many attempts to raise the standard of football, the players of the resource-strapped nation have not been able to make their mark in international football beyond South Asia. In 2003 during the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, Nepal's A national team suffered a number of heavy defeats in international matches outside of South Asia. In a match during the Asian Cup qualifying round in South Korea, the hosts scored 16 goals to no reply. In their six matches, Nepal conceded 45 goals and failed to hit the back of the net even once. However, the qualifying competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup witnessed one of Nepal's best performances in international football, with the Gorkhalis securing two wins in four matches and scoring 13 goals in two matches against Macao and Iraq. But with the Nepalese national and youth teams failing to achieve any noticeable success at international level and FIFA introducing new age restriction systems in several international tournaments, Nepal recently decided to compete only in the FIFA World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers as well as the SAFF Championship until 2006.

Resurgence (2010–)

After the marquee appointments of Graham Roberts, Nepal had experienced a fair amount of success following the decade of decline. Nepal won Saff U-19 championship in 2015 and 3 major tournaments in 2016, the Bangabandhu Cup and the AFC Solidarity Cup and won a gold medal in 2016 South Asian Games. Nepal lost no match in 2016.[7][8]

Nepal managed a well performance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, although the team was luckily chosen as replacement for Guam as Guam chose not to participate.[9] Nepal had two successful draws against much stronger Philippines and Yemen at home, both ended 0–0.[10][11] However, as the team lost to Tajikistan twice[12][13] and away loss to the Philippines[14] and Yemen,[15] the Nepalis failed to qualify to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Nepal participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification where they have to face strong Australia, Kuwait and Jordan, alongside minnows Chinese Taipei. The Nepalis only managed one single win over Chinese Taipei away 2–0, and was totally thrashed by the other opponents without scoring a goal after five matches.

Home stadium
Main article: Dasarath Rangasala Stadium
Dasrath Rangashala

The team's home ground is various around the nation one of the ground being Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. Holding 18,000 spectators all of which are beautifully seated. It is the biggest stadium in Nepal. It is named after Dasrath Chand, one of the martyrs of Nepal.

Most recently, the stadium was used as a primary venue for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup and the 2013 SAFF Championship, with the Halchowk Stadium hosting some of the matches as well.

Apart from sporting events, the stadium is also used as a music venue for cultural events with Bryan Adams being the most notable act that performed at the site.

Before the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal, the stadium underwent a heavy renovation that saw several improvements such as the expansion of seats from 20,000 to 28,000.

Team image

Nepal Red & Blue
See also: Nepal national football B team

During the ANFA Cup, the All Nepal Football Association occasionally entered two teams for Nepal; Nepal Red & Nepal Blue. This is very much akin to other South Asian teams such as Pakistan (Pakistan Green & Pakistan White, 1993 SAFF Championship; Pakistan Reds, 1976 Quaid-e-Azam exhibition matches), and Bangladesh (Bangladesh Red, 1983 President's Gold Cup). Nepal Red was a selection of Nepalese players that played as the full Nepal national football team. Whereas, Nepal Blue was effectively the B-team.[16][17]

Most of the Nepali top players play in the Nepal Red team, and it is also described as "the Nepal senior team", and is captained by the regular national team captain. While Nepal Blue is described as the "second string team".

Kit evolution

The national team's kit employs a tricolor of red, blue, and white to reflect the colors of the national flag of Nepal. With red being used for home matches, and blue for away. The pattern in some kits reflects the triangular shaping of the flag, namely the 2013 kit. Nepal's kits are mostly template kits, as opposed to a custom team-specific kit. This is because the Nepal national team isn't lucrative enough to afford kit partnership deals with manufacturers.

Very little is known about the history prior to 1998. However, during the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, the Nepalese national team hired Bijay Shah to provide technical assistance to the squad, while also acting as the assistant coach. At the time, the team didn't have printed sportswear for the tournament. After printing makeshift kits, Bijay was inspired to start a T-shirt printing company known as Attsh, where through the partnership with a US printing company, and colleagues in South Korea, they produced their first batch of kits for the national team prior to the 1999 South Asian Games.[18]

Recent results and fixtures
Main article: Nepal national football team results

Results accurate up to 19 November 2019.[19]

Date Opponent Result Score* Venue Competition Refs.
TBD  Jordan TBA 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
TBD  Australia TBA 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
TBD  Chinese Taipei TBA 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 November 2020  Bangladesh D 0–0 Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka Mujib Borsho FIFA International Football Series [20]
13 November 2020  Bangladesh L 0–2 Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka Mujib Borsho FIFA International Football Series [20]
19 November 2019  Kuwait L 0–1 Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 November 2019  Myanmar L 0–3 Mandalarthiri Stadium, Mandalay International friendly

* Nepal score always listed first

  Win   Draw   Loss

Coaching staff
Head Coach Bal Gopal Maharjan
Assistant Coach(es) Kiran Shrestha
Goalkeeping Coach Maj Bikash Malla
Technical Director Gary Phillips
Physio Aviskar Pudhasaini
Media Officer Ayush Khadka

Players

Current squad

The following 25 players for called for the friendly series against Bangladesh on 13 and 17 November 2020.[21]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Kiran Chemjong (captain) (1990-03-20) 20 March 1990 68 0 Punjab F.C.
1GK Bishal Shrestha (1992-08-09) 9 August 1992 0 0 Machhindra F.C.
1GK Deep Karki 0 0 Manang Marshyangdi Club
2DF Ananta Tamang (1998-01-14) 14 January 1998 31 2 Three Star Club
2DF Suman Aryal (1996-03-09) 9 March 1996 12 0 Nepal Army Club
2DF Rajin Dhimal (1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 10 0 Machhindra F.C.
2DF Ajit Bhandari (1994-02-07) 7 February 1994 6 0 Nepal Police Club
2DF Bikash Khawas 2 0 Tribhuwan Army Club
2DF Saroj Dahal 1 0 Sankata BSC
2DF Dilan Loktam 0 0 Jawalakhel Youth Club
2DF Tshiring Gurung (1998-02-21) 21 February 1998 1 0 Chyasal Youth Club
3MF Sujal Shrestha (1993-02-04) 4 February 1993 37 2 Machhindra F.C.
3MF Anjan Bista (1998-05-15) 15 May 1998 35 2 Manang Marshyangdi Club
3MF Bikram Lama (1989-02-23) 23 February 1989 31 0 Three Star Club
3MF Ravi Paswan 12 0 Nepal Police Club
3MF Tej Tamang (1998-02-14) 14 February 1998 9 0 Nepal Police Club
3MF Arik Bista (2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 2 0 New Road Team
3MF Darshan Gurung 2 0 New Road Team
3MF Subash Gurung 1 0 Sankata BSC
3MF Sesehang Aangdangbe 1 0 Tribhuwan Army Club
3MF Pujan Uprakoti 1 0 Manang Marshyangdi Club
4FW Bharat Khawas (1991-07-22) 22 July 1991 57 10 Nepal Army Club
4FW Nawayug Shrestha (1990-06-08) 8 June 1990 28 6 Nepal Army Club
4FW Bimal Rana 5 0 Manang Marshyangdi Club
4FW George Prince Karki (1995-05-15) 15 May 1995 3 0 Tribhuwan Army Club

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the past 12 months and are still eligible for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Bikesh Kuthu (1993-06-24) 24 June 1993 9 0 Nepal Army Club v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
DF Devendra Tamang (1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 15 0 Machhindra F.C. v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
DF Dinesh Rajbanshi (1998-04-04) 4 April 1998 11 0 Nepal Police Club v.  Myanmar, 7 November 2019
MF Rohit Chand (1992-03-01) 1 March 1992 63 0 Persija Jakarta v. Kuwait, 19 November 2019
MF Sunil Bal (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 11 1 Chyasal Youth club v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
MF Mikchhen Tamang 0 0 Three Star Club v. Kuwait, 19 November 2019
MF Santosh Tamang 7 0 Nepal Army Club v.  Myanmar, 7 November 2019
FW Abhishek Rijal (2000-01-29) 29 January 2000 7 1 Mohammedan S.C. v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
FW Bimal Gharti Magar (1998-01-26) 26 January 1998 37 8 Unattached v.  Myanmar, 7 November 2019


Coaching history
Manager Career P W D L Win % Competitions Comment Ref.
Rudi Gutendorf 1981–82 — − − − — 1982 Asian Games [22]
Jochen Figge 1984–85 — − − − — 1984 South Asian Games: Gold medalist [23]
Rudi Gutendorf 1986 — − − − — [22]
Joe Kinnear 1987 — − − − — 1987 South Asian Games: Silver medalist [24]
Reinhard Fabisch 1989 — − − − — [25][26]
Dhan Bahadur Basnet 1989–91 — − − − — [27]
Maheshwor Mulmi
Holger Obermann		 1991–93 — − − − — 1991 South Asian Games

1993 SAARC Gold Cup: Third place

 Although both Obermann and Mulmi were heavily involved in the national team during these years, Obermann was hired by the All Nepal Football Association as a 'Technical Director'[28] [29]
Dhan Bahadur Basnet 1993–94 — − − − — 1993 South Asian Games: Gold medalist

1994 Asian Games
Maheshwor Mulmi 1995 — − − − — 1995 Bristol SAFF Gold Cup
Yogambar Suwal 1995 — − − − — 1995 South Asian Games
Bhim Thapa 1996 — − − − — 1996 AFC Asian Cup: Failed to qualify
Yogambar Suwal 1997 — − − − — 1998 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Dhan Bahadur Basnet 1997 — − − − — 1997 SAFF Gold Cup
Yoo Kee-Heung 1998 — − − − — 1998 Asian Games
Torsten Spittler 1999 — − − − — 1999 SAFF Gold Cup: Fourth place [30]
Stephen Constantine 1999–01 — − − − — 1999 South Asian Games: Silver medalist
2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament: Finalist		 [31]
Maheshwor Mulmi 2001 — − − − — 2002 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Yoo Kee-Heung 2003 — − − − — 2003 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Toshihiko Shiozawa 2005–06 — − − − — 2005 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Shyam Thapa 2006–07 — − − − — 2006 AFC Challenge Cup: Semi-final
2010 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify		 [32]
Thomas Flath 2008 — − − − — 2008 SAFF Championship: Group stage [33]
Birat Krishna Shrestha 2008 — − − − — 2008 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage [34]
Krishna Thapa 2008–09 — − − − — 2008 Merdeka Tournament: Group stage [35]
Yogamber Suwal 2009 — − − − — 2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament: Champions

2010 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Krishna Thapa 2009–11 — − − − — 2009 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Graham Roberts 2011–12 — − − − — 2011 SAFF Championship: Semi-final
2014 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
2012 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage		 Reached Round 2 in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time [36]
Krishna Thapa 2012 — − − − — 2012 Nehru Cup [37]
Jack Stefanowski 2013 — − − − — 2013 SAFF Championship: Semi-final
2014 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Raju Kaji Shakya 2014 — − − − — [38]
Jack Stefanowski 2014–15 — − − − — 2018 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify [39]
Dhruba KC 2015 — − − − — [40]
Patrick Aussems 2015–16 3 0 0 3 000 2015 SAFF Championship: Group stage [41]
Bal Gopal Maharjan 2016 5 3 2 0 060 2016 Bangabandhu Cup: Champions Earned Nepal's first major title in 23 years [42]
Koji Gyotoku 2016–2018 13 4 5 4 031 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup: Champions Earned Nepal's first AFC title [43]
Bal Gopal Maharjan 2018 6 2 0 4 033 2018 SAFF Championship: Semi-final
2018 Bangabandhu Cup: Group stage		 Interim Coach[44] [45]
Johan Kalin 2019–2020[46] 6 1 2 3 017 [47]
Bal Gopal Maharjan 2020–present[46] 0 0 0 0 !—

Competitive record

International match records

Updated 17 November 2020 after match against  Bangladesh[48]

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Afghanistan6312104+6
 Australia100105−5
 Bangladesh2574141832−14
 Bhutan141400456+39
 Brunei210142+2
 Cambodia110010+1
 China4004231−29
 Chinese Taipei211031+2
 Hong Kong1010000
 India181413733−26
 Indonesia100102−2
 Iran5005025−25
 Iraq3003316−13
 Japan5005028−28
 Jordan3012113−12
 Kazakhstan2002010−10
 Kuwait8017130−29
 Kyrgyzstan201113−2
 Laos2020330
 Malaysia7016023−23
 Macau6411167+9
 Maldives164481923−4
 Myanmar300309−9
 North Korea4004111−10
 Northern Mariana Islands110060+6
 Oman110011143−42
 Pakistan196582025−5
 Palestine402203−3
 Philippines6114214−12
 Saudi Arabia100107−7
 Sri Lanka174672025−5
 Singapore3003012−12
 South Korea8008155−54
 Syria200205−5
 Tajikistan300317−6
 Thailand7106319−16
 Tibet330093+6
 Timor-Leste321071+6
 Turkmenistan200208−8
 United Arab Emirates1001011−11
 Vietnam200207−7
 Yemen401317−6
Total2385438146206569−363

Competition history
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup finals record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Result Pld W D L GF GA GD Points Result Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Points
1930Non-FIFA Member Non-FIFA Member
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970Withdrew Withdrew
1974
1978
1982
1986Did not Qualify3rd (Group 3A) 4 0 1 3 0 11 −11 1
19904th (Group 4) 6 0 0 6 0 28 −28 0
1994Withdrew Withdrew
1998Did not Qualify4th (Group 4) 6 0 1 5 2 19 −17 1
20023rd (Group 6) 6 2 0 4 13 25 −12 6
2006Withdrew Withdrew
2010Did not QualifyRound 1 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0
2014Round 2 4 2 1 1 7 11 −4 7
2018Round 1 2 0 1 1 0 2 −2 1
2022TBD TBD
Total0/21-------- 7/2130442222100−78 16

AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup finals record AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Host/Year Result Pld W D L GF GA GD Points Result Pld W D L GF GA GD Points
1956Non-AFC Member Non-AFC Member
1960
1964
1968
1972Withdrew Withdrew
1976
1980
1984Did Not Qualify5th (Group 2)4004030−30 0
1988 5th (Group 3)401307−7 1
1992Withdrew Withdrew
1996Did Not Qualify4th (Group 5)6006226−24 0
20004th (Group 5)4103313−10 3
20044th (Group E)210142+2 3
2007Withdrew Withdrew
2011Did Not Qualify Withdrew & Berth Unsecured[lower-alpha 1]
20153rd (Group D)[lower-alpha 2]311162+4 4
2019Round 1[lower-alpha 3]201102−2 1
2019 TBD TBD
Total000000000 0/02533191582−67 12

AFC Challenge Cup
AFC Challenge Cup finals record AFC Challenge Cup qualification record
Host/Year Result Pts Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points Result Pld W D L GF GA GD Points
2006Semi Final7311143+1 7 No qualification tournament
2008Round 13102341+3 31st (Group D)220042+2 6
2010Did Not Qualify 2nd (Group C)202011+0 2
2012Round 10300306−6 02nd (Group D)311111+0 4
2014Did Not Qualify 3rd (Group D) 311162+44
Total3/5107137810−2 10 4/410442126+6 16

AFC Solidarity Cup
Host/Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points
2016Champions431062+4 10
2020 TBD
Total1/1431062+4 10

SAFF Championship
Host/Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points
19933rd302112−1 2
19954th3102220 3
1997Round 1200215−4 0
19994th410369−3 3
2003Round 1310245−1 3
2005Round 1310245−1 3
2008Round 1310259−4 3
2009Round 1311142+2 4
2011Semi-Final4121330 5
2013Semi-Final421153+2 7
2015Round 1200215−4 0
2018Semi-Final420275+2 6
2021 TBD
Total10/10381162143556 39

Olympic Games
See also: Nepal national under-23 football team
Host/Year Result Q Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points
1896No football tournament was held
1900Non-IOC Member
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1932No football tournament was held
1936Non-IOC Member
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964Did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
Age bar restriction after 1996, U23s only.
2000Did not enter
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020TBD---------
Total -0/2500000000

Asian Games
See also: Nepal national under-23 football team
Host/Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points
1951Non-IOC Member
1954
1958
1962
1966Withdrew
1970
1974
1978
1982Round 1300319−8 0
1986Round 14004017−17 0
1990Withdrew
1994Round 13003020−20 0
1998Round 1200206−6 0
Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only.
Total12/12-------51 0

South Asian Games
See also: Nepal national under-20 football team and Nepal national under-23 football team
Host/Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points
1984 Gold43011376 6[lower-alpha 4]
1985 Bronze320134-1 4[lower-alpha 4]
1987 Silver320173+4 4[lower-alpha 4]
19894th302112-1 2
19914th301225-3 1
1993 Gold311132+1 7
19954th3102220 3
1999 Silver5302127+5 9
Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only.
Total2712411433211 36

Other tournaments

In these tournaments, Nepal was sometimes fielded as 'ANFA XI', 'Nepal XI', or 'Nepal Sports Development Authority' despite being the de facto national football team endorsed by the ANFA.

Host/Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Points Team Name[lower-alpha 5]
1975 DCM CupUnknown------- -
1979 President's Gold CupUnknown------- -
1979 Agatha Gold CupUnknown------- -
1979 Aga Khan Gold CupRound 14013214−12 1
1981 President's Gold CupUnknown------- -
1981 Quaid-E-Azam International CupUnknown------- -
1981 King's CupUnknown------- -
1982 Darjeeling Gold CupUnknown------- -
1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup6th612339−6 4[lower-alpha 4]
1982 King's CupRound 1410329−7 2[lower-alpha 4]
1982 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational TournamentRunner up4202550 4[lower-alpha 4]
1983 Merdeka Tournament[49]Round 15005014-14 0
1983 President's Gold CupRound 1200227−5 0
1984 ANFA CupRunner up------- -
1985 Quaid-E-Azam International CupRound 1000209−9 1
1986 Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup4th511326−4 3
1986 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup5th3113417−13 5
1986 ANFA CupRunner up4211unknown[50] 3
1987 Quaid-E-Azam International CupRound 1unknown[51] unclear whether National team[52]
1987 ANFA CupChampionsunknown[53]
1989 Aga Khan Gold CupUnknown------- -
1989 ANFA CupRunner up420236-2 4[lower-alpha 4]
1995 Airlines Gold CupUnknown------- -
1997 Governor's Gold CupChampion------– -
1998 Governor's Gold Cup[54]Champion330082+6 9 ANFA XI
1998 Durand Cup[55]Round 12101110 3 Nepal XI
1999 Bangabandhu CupRound 1200213−2 0
2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational TournamentRunner up221142+2 7 Nepal Red
2008 Merdeka TournamentRound 1301239−6 1
2009 Prime Minister's Invitational TournamentChampions431041+3 10 Nepal Red
2012 Nehru CupRound 1401319−8 1
2016 Bangabandhu CupChampions532081+7 11
2018 Bangabandhu CupGroup Stage200203-3 11
Total5 Titles66221238531272 66
**Former rules, win = 2pts.

Honours

Statistics

Most capped players

Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

As of 16 October 2019

Qualification: 50 caps

# Player Period Caps Goals
1 Biraj Maharjan 2008–present 72 2
2 Kiran Chemjong 2008–present 65 0
3 Sagar Thapa 2003-2015 62 1
4 Rohit Chand 2009–present 60 0
5 Bharat Khawas 2008–present 53 7
6 Anil Gurung 2007–2017 50 10

Top goalscorers

Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

As of 16 October 2019

Qualification: 5 goals

# Player Period Goals Caps
1 Hari Khadka 1996–2005 13 41
(=1) Nirajan Rayamajhi 2002–2010 13 19
2 Jumanu Rai 2006–present 11 32
3 Anil Gurung 2007–2017 10 50
4 Bharat Khawas 2008–present 10 53
5 Bimal Gharti Magar 2012–present 8 33
6 Nawayug Shrestha 2014–present 6 26

See also

Notes
  1. Withdrew from qualification and failed to qualify for 2010 AFC Challenge Cup
  2. Failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup
  3. Also part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
  4. prior to the Three points for a win rule
  5. unless otherwise noted, the team played as the Nepal National Football Team

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. "FIFA Fixtures & Results". FIFA.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  3. "8th SAF-Games 1999". Indian Football. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  4. "Aga Khan Gold Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  5. "Late Prakash Bikram Shah – First Nepali National football player to score first-ever goal in International football". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  6. "Nepal – elo ratings". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  7. "Nepal beat Bahrain 3-0 in Bangabandhu, win first international title after 23 years than AFC Solidarity by beating Macau 1-0 in final ..Nepal won South Asian Games 2016 football Gold medal by defeating host country India on final 2-1". The Himalayan Times. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  8. "NEPAL CROWNED AFC SOLIDARITY CUP 2016 CHAMPIONS". AFC(Asian Football Confederation). 16 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. "Teams for final round of AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 qualifiers confirmed". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
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