Three new faces named in Nepal’s squad to face UAE

KATHMANDU: The Nepali men’s national football team has announced the squad to face the UAE in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Second Round Asian Qualifiers.

Nepal is scheduled to play against the UAE in Dubai on November 16. The national team is leaving for Dubai on Sunday.

Veteran defender Anant Tamang will miss the match against the UAE after sustaining a knee injury during closed camp training. However, he is expected to be available for the home match against Yemen on November 21.

Head Coach Vincenzo Alberto Annesse has selected three new faces – Yogesh Gurung (defender), Nishan Hamal (midfielder), and Rajesh Pariyar (forward) – in the national team.

Nepal is placed in Group ‘H’ alongside the UAE, Yemen, and Bahrain. Nepal qualified for the Second Round Qualifiers by defeating Bahrain, while Yemen qualified by defeating Sri Lanka. The other two sides in the group – UAE and Bahrain – qualified based on their FIFA ranking.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Kiran Kumar Limbu, Deep Karki, Abhishek Baral

Defenders: Sanish Shrestha, Rohit Chand, Anjan Rai, Ashish Chaudhary, Amrit Shrestha, Arik Bista, Chhiring Lama, Yogesh Gurung

Midfielders: Laken Limbu, Utsab Rai, Kritish Ratna Chunju, Manish Dangi, Sesehang Angdembe, Nishan Hamal

Forwards: Anjan Bista, Ayush Ghalan, Gilespie Jung Karki, Hisub Thapaliya, Sanjiv Bista, and Rajesh Pariyar