Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia have come to an end after a 1–0 defeat against Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.
The narrow loss, caused by an early own goal, marked Nepal’s fourth straight defeat in the third qualifying round.
Vietnam took the lead in the sixth minute when a corner kick from the right was headed by Nguyen Hieu Minh and deflected off Nepal defender Suman Shreshtha into the net. Shreshtha was injured in the incident and was soon replaced by Kumar Lama.
Vietnam dominated possession throughout the match and created multiple scoring chances. They, however, failed to find the back of the net despite hitting the post twice in the first half.
Nepal showed more attacking intent in the second half as they pressed forward with crosses and set pieces. Their best opportunity came in the 85th minute of the match when Dinesh Henjan broke free on the right flank. But his effort went over the bar. Goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong made several crucial saves to keep the deficit to one goal.
With this result, Vietnam moved to nine points in Group F, trailing behind Malaysia, which beat Laos 3–1 to retain the top spot with 12 points. Nepal remain at the bottom of the table without a point.
