Nepal's journey to the finals in India will only be confirmed if it tops the group stage or emerge as the best four runners-up among the 11 groups in the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers scheduled for September 12 to 20. A total of 45 nations will participate in the qualifiers that will confirm 15 nations' ticket to the 16-team competition. India has received a direct entry as the host nation.However, in case India finishes top of its qualifying group or among the best four second-placed teams, the next (5th) best runner-up will qualify for the final competition, according to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Nepal, aiming to reach the finals for the fourth time, will visit Kyrgyzstan, where Oman and Jordan will also join for the Group B competition.
After playing the final rounds in 2000, 2006 and 2014, Nepal is determined to qualify for the fourth time. The U-16 team has drawn inspiration from the recent achievement of the U-19 team that clinched title of the SAFF U-19 Football Championship to end nation's title drought of 22 years. The last time Nepal won any international football competition was in 1993, when Nepal beat India in the final of the Sixth South Asian Games held in Bangladesh.
"The success of the U-19 team has boosted the morale of our team and our players have taken the achievement as a motivational factor and are determined to bring out better results. The awards and facilities have also made them eager to win," said U-16 team coach Upendra Man Singh, who recently travelled to Bangladesh with the team for the SAFF U-16 Championship, but returned without the trophy.
However, coach Singh vowed to convert the failure of U-16 SAFF Championship into success during the qualifiers.
Nepal lost to India 1-0 in the semifinals in the third edition of the U-16 SAFF Championship. Nepal beat the Maldives 5-0 and Afghanistan 1-0 in the group stage.
"We are always good in age-group football events. However, we failed to achieve our target in Bangladesh despite playing technically and tactically better games as ground condition was terrible due to rain and mud," he added.
Nevertheless, coach Singh claimed that his side is all prepared for the qualifiers as the team is under training for more than two months.
Nepali team will most probably get some new faces in the final 23-member squad as 28 players are under closed-camp training.
"Some of the new players will get chances in the qualifiers. We will also select players based on their performances in the ongoing trainings as well as of the U-16 SAFF championship. We will also analyze their on-and-off the field discipline to finalize the team," informed coach Singh.
Kyrgyzstan is a new destination for Nepali team, which is expecting the weather to be colder than Kathmandu valley.
"Colder weather will be favorable for us. We are also expecting the ground condition to be better compared to Bangladesh," added Singh, who is preparing his side for an all out attack.
"We will play attacking game and try to convert every opportunity into goals with quick finish," he said.
Nepal will play its first match against Jordan on September 16, second against host Kyrgyzstan on September 18 and the last match against Oman on September 20.
Related story
Who Will Care for ‘Kinless’ Seniors?
