Nepal team is on a month-long tour of four ASEAN countries as part of preparation for the upcoming SAFF Championship to be held in New Delhi, India from December 1-15 and final rounds of AFC Challenge Cup to be held in Nepal in 2012.[break]
The match will be vital in boosting the morale of the Nepali team after disastrous outcome of the match against Philippines on Tuesday. Malaysian senior team is ranked 147 and Nepal 135 in FIFA rankings.
The injuries of Nepali coach Jagjeet Shrestha and Bikash Singh Chhetri has worried Nepali team. Shrestha has sustained toe injury and Chhetri has ankle injury. It is not yet confirmed whether they will show up during the match against Malaysia.
Nepal´s British coach Graham Roberts has said that he would take every match seriously and try to improve team´s performance in every other match they play. Malaysia is also in no mood to take the match lightly as it is preparing for South East Asian Games to be held from November 11-22 in Indonesia. Similarly, Malaysia youth team is also taking on Syria on November 23 in the Olympic Qualifiers for 2012 Olympic.
As reported by football portal goalnepal.com coach Roberts has planned 5-3-2 formation against Malaysia. "I have told them where they made mistakes during their last match against Philippines and they have realized their mistakes," goalnepal.com has quoted Roberts.
Similarly, Malaysia´s coach Ong Kim Swee has taken the match as the real test of his team. "I have heard a lot about Nepal team lately. They have made good progress in FIFA ranking. It will be a good match and real test for us."
Nepali team is also scheduled to conduct a training camp in Malaysia until October 24 and also play two friendly matches against some local clubs of Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Nepal national football team will observe one minute silence before Saturday´s match against Malaysia U-23 to mourn the death of for 41 Nepalis who died in a bus accident in Sindhuli District on Thursday, reports goalnepal.com. The players and coaches have expressed deep sorrow over the accident.
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