Nepal to play against UAE tonight

Today, Nepal will compete against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying match. The match between Nepal and UAE is scheduled to commence at 9:45 pm NST in Saudi Arabia.

Interestingly, although Nepal is designated as the home team, the match will take place at a neutral venue. Earlier, technicians from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) inspected Dashrath Stadium and subsequently submitted a report to the AFC regarding the stadium's conditions.

Following the report's findings, AFC communicated to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) that due to unsuitable conditions for the World Cup Qualifiers, the match should be played at a neutral venue. Consequently, Nepal will play the match in Saudi Arabia, similarly to their upcoming match against Yemen.

Nepal is in Group "H" in the second round of World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region, along with UAE, Bahrain, and Yemen. As of now, all four nations in the group have played four games each. UAE leads the group with 12 points, followed by Bahrain with nine points, and Yemen with three points. Unfortunately, Nepal has suffered defeats in all four matches.

Throughout these matches, the Nepali team has failed to score a single goal while conceding 14 goals. Previously, Nepal lost to UAE by 4-0 goals and to Yemen by 2-0 goals. Similarly, they faced defeats against Bahrain by 5-0 goals and 3-0 goals, respectively.