Nepal, Mauritius playing friendly tomorrow

KATHMANDU, Jan 28: Nepal Nepal and Mauritius are playing in the first of the two friendlies at Dashrath Stadium on Saturday.

The two sides are meeting for the first time in their footballing history and said they were eagerly waiting for the game.

In the pre-match press conference at ANFA Complex in Satdobato, Mauritius head coach Tony Francois said they were playing an international game after a long time and expected a tough match against Nepal. "We have also trained for only 45 days. It won't be easy to play against Nepal," he said.

Francois said Nepal will play at a higher pace and his players will put their best. "We have watched them play in the Maldives [SAFF Championship] and they play a fast game. We would do our best to show Mauritius football here," he said.

Mauritius team captain Kevin Obrian said Nepal was a good team and expect a good match. "I expect my teammates to put a good show against Nepal," Obrian said.

Nepal's coach Kiran Shrestha said the friendlies are part of preparations for the Asia Cup Qualifiers. "Our preparations are over. We aim to correct the mistakes we made in our past international games," Shrestha said.

Shrestha said Mauritius' team is similar to that of Nepal and announcing 34 players for the two matches was to prepare the team for the future. "We are similar in standards but I expect Mauritius to be tough physically. Also, we want to give exposure to the new faces in the team. This helps us prepare the team for the future," said Shrestha.

Nepal's captain and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu said they expect to make the first encounter against an African side a memorable one. "It is going to be a new experience for us playing against an African team. Our players are ready both mentally and physically," said Limbu.

The match will be played under the lights at 4:45 pm at Dashrath Stadium. Tickets for the games have been fixed at Rs 500 and Rs 1000 for normal and VIP parapet respectively.