Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Gillespye Jung Karki and Sanjiv Bista scored their maiden international goals as Nepal ended its goal drought and played a 2-2 draw against Yemen in its final match of the second round of qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Dammam on Tuesday.
Yemen took the lead from the penalty spot in the 9th minute of the match played at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, after Manish Dangi brought down Rami Al-Wasmani inside the box. Naseer Al-Gahwashi converted the penalty to give Yemen the lead.
Nepal equalized in the 22nd minute. Bista used his pace to intercept a Yemeni defender’s back pass to the goalkeeper and scored from inside the box.
Nepal took the lead in the 66th minute when Karki directed Bista’s header from Chhiring Lama’s pass into the net.
Nepal preserved the lead until the end of regulation time and was on course for its first win of the qualifying campaign. However, it conceded in the first minute of injury time. Mohammed Al-Dahi scored from inside the box after some neat work by Yemeni forwards to ensure that the two sides shared spoil.
The UAE and Bahrain have qualified for the next round. The UAE topped Group ‘H’ with 16 points from six matches, while Bahrain finished second with 11 points. Nepal finished the campaign with one point. It scored twice in its final match after failing to score in their first five matches of the qualifier.
