Nepal national football team

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

The Nepal national football team (Nepali: नेपाल राष्ट्रिय फुटबल टोली) 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 Nepali football team plays their home games at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

Nepal

Nickname(s)	The Gorkhalis
Association	All Nepal Football Association (ANFA)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Prabesh Katuwal
Captain	Kiran Chemjong
Most caps	Raju Kaji Shakya (91)
Top scorer	Hari Khadka Nirajan Rayamajhi (13)
Home stadium	Dasharath Stadium
FIFA code	NEP
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	175 (22 December 2022)^[1]
Highest	78 (December 1993 – February 1994)
Lowest	196 (January 2016)
First international
China 6–2 Nepal    (Beijing, China; 13 October 1972)^[2] (Kathmandu, Nepal; 26 September 1999)^[3]
Biggest win
South Korea 0–6 Nepal    (Incheon, South Korea; 29 September 2003)^[2]
SAFF Championship
Appearances	13 (first in 1993)
Best result	Runners-up (2021)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2016)
Best result	Champions (2016)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2006)
Best result	Semi-finals (2006)

History

Origins (1921–1993)

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.^[5] 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 Wanderers, 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.^[6] 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 Nepali FA's endeavors to raise the standard of football among the players of a nation that has an official per capita income of just 1,196 US dollars. The woes of Nepali 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.^[7] 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 Nepali 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 Nepali national and youth teams failing to achieve any noticeable success at the 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–present)

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.^[8][9]

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.^[10] Nepal had two successful draws against much stronger Philippines and Yemen at home, both ended 0–0.^[11][12] However, as the team lost to Tajikistan twice^[13][14] and away loss to the Philippines^[15] and Yemen,^[16] 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 lost to the other opponents without scoring a goal after five matches.

Nepal participated in the 2021 SAFF Championship Managing to qualify from the group 2nd place behind India national football team. They fought but Nepal couldn't win against the Blue Tigers and lost by 3–0.

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 Dashrath 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.

The country also has some recenty added stadiums that include pokhara footbal stadium located at pokhara rangasala which has recently been consutucted on year 2021.

Team image

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 Nepali 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.^[17]

On 4 March 2019, ANFA has revealed two new jerseys for members of the national football team along with new national football anthem. The new jerseys have ANFA logo on the left where used to be national flag in the old jerseys. There is also national flag and picture of Mount Everest above the ANFA logo. This new sign is designed by Sandeep Tiwari.^[18] ANFA also made provision of white jerseys for friendly matches.

In 2021, ANFA ended the contract with Kelme, the previous kit sponsor, and signed with KTM CTY.^[19]

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 Nepali players that played as the full Nepal national football team. Whereas, Nepal Blue was effectively the B-team.^[20][21]

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"..

Results and fixtures

Main article: Nepal national football team results (2010–present)

See also: Nepal national football team results

Matches in the last 12 months, and future scheduled matches   Win   Draw   Loss

2022

Thailand   v     Nepal

24 March 2022 Friendly	Thailand	2–0	Nepal	Chonburi, Thailand
19:00 UTC+7	Roller   78' Chaowat   88'			Stadium: Chonburi Stadium

Chonburi   v     Nepal

27 March 2022 Unofficial friendly	Chonburi	3–1	Nepal	Chonburi, Thailand
19:00 UTC+7				Stadium: Chonburi Stadium

Nepal     v   Afghanistan

25 May 2022 (2022-05-25) Friendly	Nepal	Cancelled	Afghanistan	Qatar
--:-- UTC+3

Timor-Leste   v     Nepal

28 May 2022 (2022-05-28) Friendly	Timor-Leste	2–2	Nepal	Doha, Qatar
19:00 UTC+3	Firth   44' Correia   45+1'		Gurung   51' Shrestha   72'	Stadium: Grand Hamad Stadium

Nepal     v   Afghanistan

29 May 2022 (2022-05-29) Friendly	Nepal	Cancelled	Afghanistan	Qatar
--:-- UTC+3

Nepal     v   Oman

3 June 2022 (2022-06-03) Friendly	Nepal	0–2	Oman	Doha, Qatar
19:00 UTC+3		Report	Al-Malki   44' Al-Sabhi   89'	Stadium: Suheim bin Hamad Stadium

Jordan   v     Nepal

8 June 2022 (2022-06-08) AFC AC Qualifier R3	Jordan	2–0	Nepal	Kuwait City, Kuwait
22:15 UTC+3	Olwan   69' Al-Dardour   82' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 1,262 Referee: Chae Sang-hyeop (South Korea)

Nepal     v   Kuwait

11 June 2022 (2022-06-11) AFC AC Qualifier R3	Nepal	1–4	Kuwait	Kuwait City, Kuwait
19:15 UTC+3	D. Gurung   90+4'	Report	Al-Rashidi   28' Nasser   48', 70' Al-Faneeni   73'	Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 10,360 Referee: Pranjal Banerjee (India)

Indonesia   v     Nepal

14 June 2022 (2022-06-14) AFC AC Qualifier R3	Indonesia	7–0	Nepal	Kuwait City, Kuwait
22:15 UTC+3	Dimas   6' Witan   43', 81' Fachruddin   54' Saddil   55' Baggott   80' Marselino   90'	Report		Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 3,145 Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Nepal     v   Bangladesh

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27) FIFA Friendly	Nepal	3–1	Bangladesh	Kathmandu, Nepal
	An. Bista   18', 27', 37'		Sazzad   55'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Attendance: 8365

Nepal     v   Pakistan

16 November 2022 (2022-11-16) Friendly	Nepal	1–0	Pakistan	Kathmandu, Nepal
	Bista	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala

2023

TBD v     Nepal

June 2023 2023 SAFF Championship

TBD

v

Nepal

India

TBD v     Nepal

June 2023 2023 SAFF Championship

TBD

v

Nepal

India

Coaching staff

Head Coach	Prabesh Katuwal
Assistant Coach	Kiran Shrestha
Goalkeeping Coach	Binod Dangol
Team Manager	Madhusudan Upadhyaya
Physio	Avishkar Pudasaini

Coaching history

As of 11 August 2022

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	2020–21^[46]	5	1	3	1	020
Abdullah Al Mutairi	2021–2022	18	5	2	11	028	2021 SAFF Championship runner up		^[48]
Pradip Humagain	2022	1	1	0	0	100%	-	Interim Coach	^[49]

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the friendly match.^[50]
• Match dates: 16 November 2022
• Opposition:   Pakistan
• Caps and goals correct as of: 27 September 2022, after the match against   Bangladesh

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Deep Karki	(1998-01-09) 9 January 1998 (age 25)	3	0	Biratnagar City
	1GK	Bikesh Kuthu	(1993-06-24) 24 June 1993 (age 29)	9	0	Kathmandu Rayzrs
	1GK	Bishal Shrestha	(1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 30)	1	0	Butal Lumbini
	2DF	Rohit Chand	(1992-03-01) 1 March 1992 (age 30)	75	0	Persik Kediri
	2DF	Bikash Khawas	(2001-07-29) 29 July 2001 (age 21)	7	0	Unattached
	2DF	Dinesh Rajbanshi	(1998-04-04) 4 April 1998 (age 24)	25	0	Pokhara Thunders
	2DF	Gautam Shrestha	(2000-02-21) 21 February 2000 (age 22)	16	0	Sporting Ilam De Mechi
	2DF	Ananta Tamang	(1998-01-17) 17 January 1998 (age 25)	46	2	Chitwan
	2DF	Bikash Tamang	(1994-01-27) 27 January 1994 (age 29)	3	0	Lalitpur City
	3MF	Sesehang Aangdembe	(2000-11-03) 3 November 2000 (age 22)	5	0	Jhapa
	3MF	Sunil Bal	(1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 25)	21	1	Kathmandu Rayzrs
	3MF	Arik Bista	(2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 (age 22)	12	0	Pokhara Thunders
	3MF	Ayush Ghalan	(2004-02-21) 21 February 2004 (age 18)	10	1	Chitwan
	3MF	Nishan Khadka	(1997-01-26) 26 January 1997 (age 26)	2	0	Jhapa
	3MF	Ritik Khadka	Unknown	0	0	Jhapa
	3MF	Tej Tamang	(1998-02-14) 14 February 1998 (age 25)	22	1	Sporting Ilam De Mechi
	3MF	Suraj Jeu Thakuri	(2000-12-19) 19 December 2000 (age 22)	9	0	Birgunj United
	3MF	Pujan Uparkoti	(1996-05-09) 9 May 1996 (age 26)	16	0	Dhangadhi
	4FW	Anjan Bista	(1998-05-15) 15 May 1998 (age 24)	51	10	Jhapa
	4FW	Awas Lamichhane	Unknown	0	0	Biratnagar City
	4FW	Bimal Gharti Magar	(1997-09-15) 15 September 1997 (age 25)	40	9	Lalitpur City
	4FW	Nawayug Shrestha	(1990-06-08) 8 June 1990 (age 32)	40	7	Dhangadhi
	4FW	Sujal Shrestha	(1993-02-05) 5 February 1993 (age 30)	46	2	Pokhara Thunders

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to a Nepal squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Kiran Chemjong	(1990-03-20) 20 March 1990 (age 32)	85	0	RoundGlass	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
GK	Tikendra Thapa	(1994-08-18) 18 August 1994 (age 28)	0	0	Jawalakhel	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
GK	Bishal Sunar	(2002-02-09) 9 February 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Manang Marshyangdi	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
DF	Suman Aryal	(2000-01-31) 31 January 2000 (age 23)	28	0	Tribhuwan Army Club	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
DF	Rajin Dhimal	(1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 (age 31)	10	0	Machhindra	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
DF	Rajan Gurung	(2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 22)	2	0	APF Club	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
DF	Shiva Gurung	(2001-06-23) 23 June 2001 (age 21)	1	0	New Road Team	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
DF	Nabin Gurung	(2002-03-08) 8 March 2002 (age 20)	1	0	New Road Team	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
DF	Devendra Tamang	(1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 29)	17	0	Machhindra	v.   Mauritius; 1 February 2022
MF	Bishal Rai	(1993-06-06) 6 June 1993 (age 29)	36	4	Machhindra	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
MF	Sudip Gurung	(1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 25)	1	0	Satdobato	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
MF	Santosh Tamang	(1994-08-06) 6 August 1994 (age 28)	18	0	Tribhuwan Army Club	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
MF	Akash Budha Magar	(2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 (age 21)	1	0	Satdobato	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
MF	Nir Kumar Rai	(1991-12-05) 5 December 1991 (age 31)	1	0	Nepal Police Club	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
MF	Roshan Rana Magar	(2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 22)	0	0	Brigade Boys Club	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
MF	Jagjit Shrestha	(1992-08-10) 10 August 1992 (age 30)	29	1	Tribhuvan Army Club	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
MF	Suvash Gurung	(1991-09-07) 7 September 1991 (age 31)	2	0	Sankata BSC	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
MF	Nitin Thapa	(2002-02-07) 7 February 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Manang Marshyangdi	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
MF	Prashant Awasthi	(1998-11-04) 4 November 1998 (age 24)	1	0	Satdobato	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
FW	Manish Dangi	(2001-09-17) 17 September 2001 (age 21)	16	2	Etehad Al-Reef	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
FW	Ashish Chaudhary		1	0	Church Boys United	v.   Bangladesh, 27 September 2022
FW	George Prince Karki	(1993-10-26) 26 October 1993 (age 29)	7	0	Tribhuwan Army Club	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
FW	Darshan Gurung	(2002-08-20) 20 August 2002 (age 20)	7	1	New Road Team	v.   Indonesia; 14 June 2022
FW	Suman Lama	(1996-03-09) 9 March 1996 (age 26)	22	1	Nepal Police Club	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
FW	Aashish Lama	(1996-12-01) 1 December 1996 (age 26)	5	0	Nepal A.P.F. Club	v.   Thailand; 24 March 2022
Notes ^INJ = Withdrew due to injury. ^PRE = Preliminary squad / standby. ^RET = Retired from the national team. ^SUS = Serving suspension. ^WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

As of 24 March 2022^[51]

Players in bold are still active with Nepal.

Most appearances

 

Raju Kaji Shakya is Nepal's most capped player with 91 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Raju Kaji Shakya	91	0	1981–1997
2	Kiran Chemjong	85	0	2008–present
3	Rohit Chand	75	0	2009–present
4	Biraj Maharjan	74	1	2008–2021
5	Sagar Thapa	64	1	2003–2015
6	Bharat Khawas	57	10	2008–present
7	Anjan Bista	52	11	2014–present
	Anil Gurung	52	10	2007–2017
	Jumanu Rai	52	11	2006–2015
	Sandip Rai	52	4	2008–2015

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Nirajan Rayamajhi	13	20	0.65	2000–2008
	Hari Khadka	13	35	0.37	1995–2006
3	Anjan Bista	11	52	0.21	2014–present
	Jumanu Rai	11	52	0.21	2006–2015
4	Anil Gurung	10	52	0.19	2007–2017
	Bharat Khawas	10	57	0.18	2008–present
7	Bimal Gharti Magar	9	39	0.23	2012–present
8	Basanta Thapa	7	27	0.26	1998–2006
	Nawayug Shrestha	7	40	0.18	2015–present
10	Naresh Joshi	6	9	0.67	1997–2000

Competitive record

*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	Pts		Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1930	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970	Withdrew										Withdrew
1974
1978
1982
1986	did not qualify									3rd (Group 3A)	4	0	1	3	0	11	−11	1
1990										4th (Group 4)	6	0	0	6	0	28	−28	0
1994	Withdrew										Withdrew
1998	did not qualify									4th (Group 4)	6	0	1	5	2	19	−17	1
2002										3rd (Group 6)	6	2	0	4	13	25	−12	6
2006	Withdrew										Withdrew
2010	did not qualify									Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0
2014										Round 2	4	2	1	1	7	11	−4	7
2018										Round 1	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2022										Round 2	8	2	0	6	4	22	−18	6
2026	to be determined									to be determined
Total	0/22	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8/22	38	6	4	28	26	122	−96	22

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup finals record											AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1956	Not an AFC member										Not an AFC member
1960
1964
1968
1972	Withdrew										Withdrew
1976
1980
1984	did not qualify									5th (Group 2)	4	0	0	4	0	30	−30	0
1988										5th (Group 3)	4	0	1	3	0	7	−7	1
1992	Withdrew										Withdrew
1996	did not qualify									4th (Group 5)	6	0	0	6	2	26	−24	0
2000										4th (Group 5)	4	1	0	3	3	13	−10	3
2004										4th (Group E)	8	1	0	7	4	45	-41	3
2007	Withdrew										Withdrew
2011	did not qualify									Withdrew and berth unsecured^[a]
2015										2014 AFC Challenge Cup
2019										Round 1^[b]	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2023										Round 3	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0
2027	to be determined									to be determined
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	30	2	2	26	10	129	−119	8

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup record												AFC Challenge Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Pts	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2006	Semi-finals	7	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	7		No qualification tournament
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	3	4	1	+3	3		1st (Group D)	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	6
2010	Did not qualify											2nd (Group C)	2	0	2	0	1	1	+0	2
2012	Round 1	0	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0	2nd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	1	1	+0	4
2014	Did not qualify										3rd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	6	2	+4	4
Total	3/5	10	7	1	3	7	8	10	−2	10	4/4	10	4	4	2	12	6	+6	16

AFC Solidarity Cup

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2016	Champions	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10
2020	Cancelled
Total	1/1	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10

SAFF Championship

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1993	Third place	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
1995	Fourth place	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1997	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
1999	Fourth place	4	1	0	3	6	9	−3	3
2003	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2005	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	5	9	−4	3
2009	Round 1	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4
2011	Semi-finals	4	1	2	1	3	3	0	5
2013	Semi-finals	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7
2015	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
2018	Semi-finals	4	2	0	2	7	5	+2	6
2021	Runners-up	5	2	1	2	5	7	–2	7
Total	11/11	43	13	7	23	48	62	6	46

Olympic Games

See also: Nepal national under-23 football team

Year	Result	Q	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1896	No football tournament held
1900	Not an IOC Member
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1932	No football tournament held
1936	Not an IOC Member
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964	did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
Age bar restriction after 1996, U23s only
2000	did not enter
2004
2008
2012
2016	did not qualify
2020
Total	—	0/27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Asian Games

See also: Nepal national under-23 football team

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1951	Not an IOC Member
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew
1970
1974
1978
1982	Round 1	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0
1986	Round 1	4	0	0	4	0	17	−17	0
1990	Withdrew
1994	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	20	−20	0
1998	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0
Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only
Total	4/13	12	0	0	12	1	52	−51	0

South Asian Games

See also: Nepal national under-20 football team and Nepal national under-23 football team

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1984	Gold	4	3	0	1	13	7	6	6^[c]
1985	Bronze	3	2	0	1	3	4	–1	4^[c]
1987	Silver	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	4^[c]
1989	4th	3	0	2	1	1	2	–1	2
1991	4th	3	0	1	2	2	5	–3	1
1993	Gold	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	7
1995	4th	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1999	Silver	5	3	0	2	12	7	+5	9
Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only
Total	2 titles	27	12	4	11	43	32	11	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.^{[citation needed]}

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Team Name^[d]
1975 DCM Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 President's Gold Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Agatha Gold Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Aga Khan Gold Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	2	14	1
1981 President's Gold Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981 King's Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Darjeeling Gold Cup^[clarification needed]	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup	6th	6	1	2	3	3	9	−6	4^[c]
1982 King's Cup	Round 1	4	1	0	3	2	9	−7	2^[c]
1982 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	5	5	0	4^[c]
1983 Merdeka Tournament^[52]	Round 1	5	0	0	5	0	14	–14	0
1983 President's Gold Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	0
1984 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1985 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Round 1	0	0	0	2	0	9	−9	1
1986 Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup	4th	5	1	1	3	2	6	−4	3
1986 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	5th	3	1	1	3	4	17	−13	5
1986 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	4	2	1	1	unknown^[53]			3
1987 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Round 1	unknown^[54]								unclear whether National team^[54]
1987 ANFA Cup	Champions	unknown^[55]
1989 Aga Khan Gold Cup	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1989 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	3	6	–2	4^[c]
1995 Airlines Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997 Governor's Gold Cup^[clarification needed]	Champions	-	-	-	-	-	-	–	-
1998 Governor's Gold Cup^[56]	Champions	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	ANFA XI
1998 Durand Cup^[57]	Round 1	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3	Nepal XI
1999 Bangabandhu Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0
2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament	Runners-up	2	2	1	1	4	2	+2	7	Nepal Red
2008 Merdeka Tournament	Round 1	3	0	1	2	3	9	−6	1
2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament	Champions	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10	Nepal Red
2012 Nehru Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	1	9	−8	1
2016 Bangabandhu Cup	Champions	5	3	2	0	8	1	+7	11
2018 Bangabandhu Cup	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	0	3	-3	11
2021 Three Nations Cup	Champions	3	1	2	0	1	1	+1	11
Total	6 titles	69	23	14	38	55	128	2	66

**Former rules, win = 2pts.

Head-to-head record

Updated 17 November 2022 after match against   Pakistan^[58]

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Afghanistan	6	3	1	2	10	4	+6
Australia	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
Bangladesh	28	9	5	14	23	34	−11
Bhutan	14	14	0	0	45	6	+39
Brunei	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2
Cambodia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
China	4	0	0	4	2	31	−29
Chinese Taipei	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4
Hong Kong	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
India	22	2	4	16	9	39	−30
Indonesia	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9
Iran	5	0	0	5	0	25	−25
Iraq	4	0	0	4	5	22	−17
Japan	5	0	0	5	0	28	−28
Jordan	4	0	1	4	1	18	-17
Kazakhstan	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10
Kuwait	8	0	1	7	1	30	−29
Kyrgyzstan	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2
Laos	2	0	2	0	3	3	0
Malaysia	7	0	1	6	0	23	−23
Macau	6	4	1	1	16	7	+9
Maldives	17	5	4	8	20	23	−3
Mauritius	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2
Myanmar	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9
North Korea	4	0	0	4	1	11	−10
Northern Mariana Islands	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6
Oman	12	0	0	12	3	50	−47
Pakistan	21	8	5	8	22	25	−3
Palestine	4	0	2	2	0	3	−3
Philippines	6	1	1	4	2	14	−12
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7
Sri Lanka	17	4	7	6	20	25	−5
Singapore	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12
South Korea	8	0	0	8	1	55	−54
Syria	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5
Tajikistan	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6
Thailand	8	0	0	8	3	21	-18
Tibet	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6
Timor-Leste	4	2	2	0	9	3	+6
Turkmenistan	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	0	11	−11
Vietnam	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7
Yemen	4	0	1	3	1	7	−6
Total	244	57	40	149	215	584	−369

Honours

Continental

• AFC Solidarity Cup
  • Champions (1): 2016

Regional

• South Asian Games
  • Champions (2): 1984, 1993
  • Runners-up (2): 1987, 1999
  • Third place (1): 1985
• SAFF Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 2021
  • Third place (1): 1993

Invitational

• ANFA Cup
  • Champions (1): 1987^[59]
• Bangabandhu Cup
  • Champions (1): 2016
• Three Nations Cup
  • Champions (1): 2021

See also

•  Association football portal
•  Nepal portal

• All Nepal Football Association
• Nepal national football team (2010–present)
• Nepal national under-23 football team
• Nepal national under-20 football team
• Nepal national under-17 football team
• Nepal women's national football team

Notes

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

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
2. . FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
3. "8th SAF-Games 1999". Indian Football. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
4. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
5. "Aga Khan Gold Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 August 2014.

February 15, 2023