Nepal to begin SAFF Championship campaign against Maldives today

KATHMANDU: Nepal will begin their SAFF Championship campaign against hosts and defending champions Maldives on Friday. 

The game between Nepal and the Maldives will kick-off at 9 PM Maldives time. The opening match of the tournament will be played between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at 4 pm Maldives time.

Nepali side believe they are ready to get the tournament going and hopefully get their hands on the trophy for the first time.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference in Male on Thursday, Assistant Coach Kiran Shrestha said the Maldives will be one tough team against Nepal. "They are a good team and the defending champions. Also they are playing on the home pitch. It will be very hard for us to play against them," said Shrestha.

When asked about which teams were favorites for the tournament, Shrestha said India and Maldives were the team to beat. "India has won it seven times, the Maldives twice," he said. Shrestha added preparations for the Nepali side have been good and the friendlies and closed camp will help them in the tournament.

Nepali team captain Kiran Chemjong said they were ready to put up a fight against the opposition teams. "Maldives will have home advantage and home fans. We respect all the fans but the advantage doesn't matter to us. We are here to fight on the pitch for results," said Chemjong.

Ahead of the Championship, Nepal had played two friendly games against India―drawing one and losing the second―in Kathmandu and also underwent a closed camp in Doha, Qatar.

(with inputs from ANFA)