Nepal to face Vietnam

KATHMANDU, April 4: Nepal will face Vietnam at the first of the two first rounds of Women's Olympic Football Asian Qualifiers matches at Dasharath Stadium on Wednesday.

Speaking before the match, Nepal's coach Ananta Raj Thapa and captain Anjila Tumbapo Subba were wary of the challenge the team faces against the side ranked 33rd in FIFA Women's World Ranking.

"Vietnam is a good opponent to play and test ourselves. We have a good team that has prepared well. We expect a good result," said Thapa speaking at the pre-match press conference at ANFA Complex in Satdobato.

Thapa said they have been monitoring Vietnam and their key players as part of preparations for tomorrow's match. He also said injuries to key players Gita Rana and Preeti Rai should not be a worry for Nepal. "It is sad to lose such key players to the team but we have a good resource to pick players from and hopefully it won't be an issue," he said.

Nepal's captain Subba said they knew Vietnam ranked higher and are a World Cup-playing nation but they would enter the field to win tomorrow's match. "Nobody enters the field to lose. We want to win the match," she said.

Vietnam's head coach Mai Duc Chung said Nepal has an impressive squad and expected a good match against them. "We have not played against them before but they have an impressive team. We hope to put up a good show because we came here to compete and not just play the matches," he said.

Captain Huynh Nhu said it was a bit odd to play twice against the same nation. "We respect our opponent team and we are here to win. We have watched their match against India and they are a good side to play against," she said.

The first of the two matches will be played at Dasharath Stadium at 6 pm.

(source: ANFA)