The national team is in Pune, India, to play a friendly match against the host on Monday. India has emerged as a tough opponent for Nepal over the past decade. The visiting side will aim to avenge the defeat suffered against India in an international match played on March 12 in Guwahati, Assam. Nepal was defeated by India 2-0 during the World Cup and Asia Cup joint pre-qualifiers then.
The victory of the youth team has filled the national team with fresh inspiration in the words of Vice-captain Sandip Rai. "We were under pressure to win at least a title, and the trophy achieved by the youth team after beating India in the final is special," said Sandip. "We want to give continuity to the success of the youth team."
Four members of the youth team -- skipper Bimal Gharti Magar, Anjan Bista, Biswas Shrestha and Ananta Tamang - that beat India arrived in Pune to join the national team for the friendly. "The winning mentality of the youth players will boost our confidence," added Sandip.
Nepal, however, has poor record against India. Nepal has not won against India in the last three meetings since defeating the South Asian rival 2-1 in the last edition of SAFF Championship in Kathmandu in 2013.
Besides, there's also a huge gap in the level of game between the two neighbors. The Indian Super League (ISL) earned wide recognition in the very first edition by enrolling former global superstars. I-League dates back to decades. Contrary to that, Nepal has been struggling to establish the National League.
Almost all cities of India are equipped with at least one quality stadium. But there is not a single stadium in Nepal that meets proper international standard.
Nepal's skipper Sagar Thapa is optimistic about winning the match due to sound preparation of his side despite the effect of devastating earthquake on Dasharath Stadium. Recalling that his side hasn't scored any goal since the last nine matches, Sagar said, "We have had sound preparation and the frontline is under pressure to score. We can be hopeful of positive result as new talents are making their mark in the team," he said.
However, injury concerns of some key players are likely to be the major setback for the visitors. Vice-captain Sandip is likely to miss the match due to a back problem while striker Bharat Khawas is doubtful to play due to knee injury. Similarly, forward Bimal and Anjan of the youth team are not totally fit due to injury they picked up during the SAFF U-19 Championship. Midfielder Jagjeet Shrestha is yet to recover from injury.
The injury of his players, however, has not bothered coach Dhruba KC. Stating that the injury issue was not serious, he said, "The alternative players are also equally capable. Thus we need not worry. We will come up with totally different style of playing," KC said. "Since we have not scored from quite a long time, we have the strategy of fielding more forward this time. I am optimistic of winning if the boys perform according to our plan and training."
India's coach Stephen Constantine, who is also a former coach of Nepal, described Nepal as a strong opponent.
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