Nepal national football team

The Nepal national football team represents Nepal in International men's football and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Nepalese football team play their home games at Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu.

Nepal

Nickname(s)	The Gorkhalis
Association	All Nepal Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Bal Gopal Maharjan
Captain	Kiran Chemjong
Most caps	Biraj Maharjan (75)
Top scorer	Hari Khadka Nirajan Rayamajhi (13)
Home stadium	Dasarath Rangasala Stadium
FIFA code	NEP
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	171 (10 December 2020)[1]
Highest	121 (December 1993 – February 1994)
Lowest	196 (January 2016)
First international
China 6–2 Nepal (Beijing, China; 13 October 1972)[2]
Biggest win
Nepal 7–0 Bhutan  (Kathmandu, Nepal; 26 September 1999)[3]
Biggest defeat
South Korea 16–0 Nepal (Incheon, South Korea; 29 September 2003)[2]
SAFF Championship
Appearances	12 (first in 1993)
Best result	Third place (1993)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2016)
Best result	Champions (2016)
Bangabandhu Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 1999)
Best result	Champions (2016)

History

Origins (1921–1963)

Football in Nepal had been a national sport as early as 1921 during the Rana dynasty. Several clubs were formed and several domestic tournaments such as the Ram Janaki Cup (1934), and the Tribhuvan Challenge Shield (1948) were organized. In 1951, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) was founded, and this saw the formation of the Nepal national football team.

Emergence (1963–1970)

In 1963, Nepal appeared in their first international away game in the Aga Khan Gold Cup; the predecessor of the President's Gold Cup, Asia Champion Club Tournament, and Asian Club Championship (now rebranded as the AFC Champions League) after various associations (including ANFA) insisted on entering national teams instead of clubs.[4] After Nepal entered an 18-man squad, ANFA flew the players to Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to play their first match. Nepal faced Western Railway, a Pakistani team in the Bangabandhu National Stadium. However, the match was lost 0–7. Two days later, Nepal played the Dhaka Wonders, a local East Pakistani team. Though this match was also lost 0–7. After two disastrous games, Nepal was sure to be knocked out of the preliminary round. The final game was against Dhaka Police Club, though, despite the previous heavy losses, Nepal managed to win the game with a single goal. The goal scorer, Prakash Bikram Shah, became the first Nepali to score on foreign soil.[5] The goal took place at the 19th minute.

Modernisation & golden generation (1970–1999)

In 1970, Nepal became a member of FIFA. Two years later, Nepal joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). With this, Nepal played their first international match on 13 October 1972, where they lost 2–6 to the People's Republic of China. The first Nepali footballer to score the first international goal for Nepal in a FIFA-recognized tournament was Y.B Ghale. Ghale scored against Kuwait in the 1982 Asian Games. Despite the popularity of the game, the lack of appropriate footballing infrastructure and the dearth of trainers, technicians, and other facilities have always been obstacles in the way of the Nepalese FA's endeavors to raise the standard of football among the players of a nation that has an official per capita income of just The woes of Nepalese football, however, have been immensely relieved by FIFA's determination to promote football in Nepal through youth programs.

In the mid-1980s, FIFA provided financial assistance and sent a number of coaches to help Nepal's federation to launch its first youth program, which was geared towards spotting talent at the grassroots level (such as in schools, for example) and providing young players with the necessary know-how, both on and off the pitch. The initial five-year plan helped half the players groomed under the first youth program to find a place in the national side, and the team that won the 2 gold medals in the first and sixth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games mostly consisted of the players from that youth programme. Despite Nepal being considered among the lower-ranked nations, Nepal has been largely successful in the South Asian Games where they won two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.

Nepal hosted several notable friendlies from teams outside the Asian Confederation during the mid to late 80s, against Denmark in 1986; USSR and East Germany in 1987; and West Germany in 1989.[6] While at the same time, Nepal still entered tournaments against club sides such as FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast in the 1989 ANFA Cup.

Nepal continued on with their winning ways through several minor tournaments which saw the nation showered with titles including the 1997 and 1998 Governor's Gold Cup, winning gold at the 1993 South Asian Games, and reaching 3rd place in the 1993 South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup (the first edition of the SAFF Championship).

Decline (2000–2009)

The Nepali football came across a forgettable two years from 2001 to 2003 when the row between two factions (government-backed and FIFA-backed) led Nepali football into deep trouble. Nepal faced a ban and therefore could not participate in any events and the rankings slipped heavily. The dispute was settled, but not before it contributed to pushing Nepali football backward. Nepal celebrated their 100th international football match in January 2003 when they played Bangladesh in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. Nepal failed to make any real impact at the tournament. During its 22 years of international participation, the Nepalese team has only played 26 nations outside of South Asia, but it has defeated all of the country's South Asian neighbors during various regional tournaments. Nepal also faced non-AFC teams in competitive tournaments such as Ghana U23 in the 1999 Bangabandhu Cup, and Kazakhstan in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign (although Kazakhstan was a member of the AFC during this match).

Despite many attempts to raise the standard of football, the players of the resource-strapped nation have not been able to make their mark in international football beyond South Asia. In 2003 during the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, Nepal's A national team suffered a number of heavy defeats in international matches outside of South Asia. In a match during the Asian Cup qualifying round in South Korea, the hosts scored 16 goals to no reply. In their six matches, Nepal conceded 45 goals and failed to hit the back of the net even once. However, the qualifying competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup witnessed one of Nepal's best performances in international football, with the Gorkhalis securing two wins in four matches and scoring 13 goals in two matches against Macao and Iraq. But with the Nepalese national and youth teams failing to achieve any noticeable success at international level and FIFA introducing new age restriction systems in several international tournaments, Nepal recently decided to compete only in the FIFA World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers as well as the SAFF Championship until 2006.

Resurgence (2010–)

After the marquee appointments of Graham Roberts, Nepal had experienced a fair amount of success following the decade of decline. Nepal won Saff U-19 championship in 2015 and 3 major tournaments in 2016, the Bangabandhu Cup and the AFC Solidarity Cup and won a gold medal in 2016 South Asian Games. Nepal lost no match in 2016.[7][8]

Nepal managed a well performance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, although the team was luckily chosen as replacement for Guam as Guam chose not to participate.[9] Nepal had two successful draws against much stronger Philippines and Yemen at home, both ended 0–0.[10][11] However, as the team lost to Tajikistan twice[12][13] and away loss to the Philippines[14] and Yemen,[15] the Nepalis failed to qualify to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Nepal participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification where they have to face strong Australia, Kuwait and Jordan, alongside minnows Chinese Taipei. The Nepalis only managed one single win over Chinese Taipei away 2–0, and was totally thrashed by the other opponents without scoring a goal after five matches.

Home stadium

Dasrath Rangashala

The team's home ground is various around the nation one of the ground being Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. Holding 18,000 spectators all of which are beautifully seated. It is the biggest stadium in Nepal. It is named after Dasrath Chand, one of the martyrs of Nepal.

Most recently, the stadium was used as a primary venue for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup and the 2013 SAFF Championship, with the Halchowk Stadium hosting some of the matches as well.

Apart from sporting events, the stadium is also used as a music venue for cultural events with Bryan Adams being the most notable act that performed at the site.

Before the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal, the stadium underwent a heavy renovation that saw several improvements such as the expansion of seats from 20,000 to 28,000.

Team image

Nepal Red & Blue

During the ANFA Cup, the All Nepal Football Association occasionally entered two teams for Nepal; Nepal Red & Nepal Blue. This is very much akin to other South Asian teams such as Pakistan (Pakistan Green & Pakistan White, 1993 SAFF Championship; Pakistan Reds, 1976 Quaid-e-Azam exhibition matches), and Bangladesh (Bangladesh Red, 1983 President's Gold Cup). Nepal Red was a selection of Nepalese players that played as the full Nepal national football team. Whereas, Nepal Blue was effectively the B-team.[16][17]

Most of the Nepali top players play in the Nepal Red team, and it is also described as "the Nepal senior team", and is captained by the regular national team captain. While Nepal Blue is described as the "second string team".

Kit evolution

The national team's kit employs a tricolor of red, blue, and white to reflect the colors of the national flag of Nepal. With red being used for home matches, and blue for away. The pattern in some kits reflects the triangular shaping of the flag, namely the 2013 kit. Nepal's kits are mostly template kits, as opposed to a custom team-specific kit. This is because the Nepal national team isn't lucrative enough to afford kit partnership deals with manufacturers.

Very little is known about the history prior to 1998. However, during the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, the Nepalese national team hired Bijay Shah to provide technical assistance to the squad, while also acting as the assistant coach. At the time, the team didn't have printed sportswear for the tournament. After printing makeshift kits, Bijay was inspired to start a T-shirt printing company known as Attsh, where through the partnership with a US printing company, and colleagues in South Korea, they produced their first batch of kits for the national team prior to the 1999 South Asian Games.[18]

Recent results and fixtures

Results accurate up to 19 November 2019.[19]

Date	Opponent	Result	Score*	Venue	Competition	Refs.
TBD	Jordan			TBA	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
TBD	Australia			TBA	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
TBD	Chinese Taipei			TBA	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 November 2020	Bangladesh	D	0–0	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka	Mujib Borsho FIFA International Football Series	[20]
13 November 2020	Bangladesh	L	0–2	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka	Mujib Borsho FIFA International Football Series	[20]
19 November 2019	Kuwait	L	0–1	Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 November 2019	Myanmar	L	0–3	Mandalarthiri Stadium, Mandalay	International friendly

* Nepal score always listed first

  Win   Draw   Loss

Coaching staff

Head Coach	Bal Gopal Maharjan
Assistant Coach(es)	Kiran Shrestha
Goalkeeping Coach	Maj Bikash Malla
Technical Director	Gary Phillips
Physio	Aviskar Pudhasaini
Media Officer	Ayush Khadka

Players

Current squad

The following 25 players for called for the friendly series against Bangladesh on 13 and 17 November 2020.[21]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Kiran Chemjong (captain)	20 March 1990	68	0	Punjab F.C.
	GK	Bishal Shrestha	9 August 1992	0	0	Machhindra F.C.
	GK	Deep Karki		0	0	Manang Marshyangdi Club
	DF	Ananta Tamang	14 January 1998	31	2	Three Star Club
	DF	Suman Aryal	9 March 1996	12	0	Nepal Army Club
	DF	Rajin Dhimal	4 April 1991	10	0	Machhindra F.C.
	DF	Ajit Bhandari	7 February 1994	6	0	Nepal Police Club
	DF	Bikash Khawas		2	0	Tribhuwan Army Club
	DF	Saroj Dahal		1	0	Sankata BSC
	DF	Dilan Loktam		0	0	Jawalakhel Youth Club
	DF	Tshiring Gurung	21 February 1998	1	0	Chyasal Youth Club
	MF	Sujal Shrestha	4 February 1993	37	2	Machhindra F.C.
	MF	Anjan Bista	15 May 1998	35	2	Manang Marshyangdi Club
	MF	Bikram Lama	23 February 1989	31	0	Three Star Club
	MF	Ravi Paswan		12	0	Nepal Police Club
	MF	Tej Tamang	14 February 1998	9	0	Nepal Police Club
	MF	Arik Bista	17 March 2000	2	0	New Road Team
	MF	Darshan Gurung		2	0	New Road Team
	MF	Subash Gurung		1	0	Sankata BSC
	MF	Sesehang Aangdangbe		1	0	Tribhuwan Army Club
	MF	Pujan Uprakoti		1	0	Manang Marshyangdi Club
	FW	Bharat Khawas	22 July 1991	57	10	Nepal Army Club
	FW	Nawayug Shrestha	8 June 1990	28	6	Nepal Army Club
	FW	Bimal Rana		5	0	Manang Marshyangdi Club
	FW	George Prince Karki	15 May 1995	3	0	Tribhuwan Army Club

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the past 12 months and are still eligible for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Bikesh Kuthu	24 June 1993	9	0	Nepal Army Club	v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
DF	Devendra Tamang	1 November 1993	15	0	Machhindra F.C.	v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
DF	Dinesh Rajbanshi	4 April 1998	11	0	Nepal Police Club	v.  Myanmar, 7 November 2019
MF	Rohit Chand	1 March 1992	63	0	Persija Jakarta	v. Kuwait, 19 November 2019
MF	Sunil Bal	1 January 1998	11	1	Chyasal Youth club	v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
MF	Mikchhen Tamang		0	0	Three Star Club	v. Kuwait, 19 November 2019
MF	Santosh Tamang		7	0	Nepal Army Club	v.  Myanmar, 7 November 2019
FW	Abhishek Rijal	29 January 2000	7	1	Mohammedan S.C.	v.  Kuwait, 19 November 2019
FW	Bimal Gharti Magar	26 January 1998	37	8	Unattached	v.  Myanmar, 7 November 2019

Coaching history

Manager	Career	P	W	D	L	Win %	Competitions	Comment	Ref.
Rudi Gutendorf	1981–82	—	−	−	−	—	1982 Asian Games		[22]
Jochen Figge	1984–85	—	−	−	−	—	1984 South Asian Games: Gold medalist		[23]
Rudi Gutendorf	1986	—	−	−	−	—			[22]
Joe Kinnear	1987	—	−	−	−	—	1987 South Asian Games: Silver medalist		[24]
Reinhard Fabisch	1989	—	−	−	−	—			[25][26]
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1989–91	—	−	−	−	—			[27]
Maheshwor Mulmi Holger Obermann	1991–93	—	−	−	−	—	1991 South Asian Games 1993 SAARC Gold Cup: Third place	Although both Obermann and Mulmi were heavily involved in the national team during these years, Obermann was hired by the All Nepal Football Association as a 'Technical Director'[28]	[29]
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1993–94	—	−	−	−	—	1993 South Asian Games: Gold medalist 1994 Asian Games
Maheshwor Mulmi	1995	—	−	−	−	—	1995 Bristol SAFF Gold Cup
Yogambar Suwal	1995	—	−	−	−	—	1995 South Asian Games
Bhim Thapa	1996	—	−	−	−	—	1996 AFC Asian Cup: Failed to qualify
Yogambar Suwal	1997	—	−	−	−	—	1998 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1997	—	−	−	−	—	1997 SAFF Gold Cup
Yoo Kee-Heung	1998	—	−	−	−	—	1998 Asian Games
Torsten Spittler	1999	—	−	−	−	—	1999 SAFF Gold Cup: Fourth place		[30]
Stephen Constantine	1999–01	—	−	−	−	—	1999 South Asian Games: Silver medalist 2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament: Finalist		[31]
Maheshwor Mulmi	2001	—	−	−	−	—	2002 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Yoo Kee-Heung	2003	—	−	−	−	—	2003 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Toshihiko Shiozawa	2005–06	—	−	−	−	—	2005 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Shyam Thapa	2006–07	—	−	−	−	—	2006 AFC Challenge Cup: Semi-final 2010 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify		[32]
Thomas Flath	2008	—	−	−	−	—	2008 SAFF Championship: Group stage		[33]
Birat Krishna Shrestha	2008	—	−	−	−	—	2008 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage		[34]
Krishna Thapa	2008–09	—	−	−	−	—	2008 Merdeka Tournament: Group stage		[35]
Yogamber Suwal	2009	—	−	−	−	—	2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament: Champions 2010 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Krishna Thapa	2009–11	—	−	−	−	—	2009 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Graham Roberts	2011–12	—	−	−	−	—	2011 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2014 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify 2012 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage	Reached Round 2 in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time	[36]
Krishna Thapa	2012	—	−	−	−	—	2012 Nehru Cup		[37]
Jack Stefanowski	2013	—	−	−	−	—	2013 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2014 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Raju Kaji Shakya	2014	—	−	−	−	—			[38]
Jack Stefanowski	2014–15	—	−	−	−	—	2018 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify		[39]
Dhruba KC	2015	—	−	−	−	—			[40]
Patrick Aussems	2015–16	3	0	0	3	000	2015 SAFF Championship: Group stage		[41]
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2016	5	3	2	0	060	2016 Bangabandhu Cup: Champions	Earned Nepal's first major title in 23 years	[42]
Koji Gyotoku	2016–2018	13	4	5	4	031	2016 AFC Solidarity Cup: Champions	Earned Nepal's first AFC title	[43]
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2018	6	2	0	4	033	2018 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2018 Bangabandhu Cup: Group stage	Interim Coach[44]	[45]
Johan Kalin	2019–2020[46]	6	1	2	3	017			[47]
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2020–present[46]	0	0	0	0	—

Competitive record

International match records

Updated 17 November 2020 after match against  Bangladesh[48]

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Afghanistan	6	3	1	2	10	4	+6
Australia	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5
Bangladesh	25	7	4	14	18	32	−14
Bhutan	14	14	0	0	45	6	+39
Brunei	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2
Cambodia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
China	4	0	0	4	2	31	−29
Chinese Taipei	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2
Hong Kong	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
India	18	1	4	13	7	33	−26
Indonesia	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Iran	5	0	0	5	0	25	−25
Iraq	3	0	0	3	3	16	−13
Japan	5	0	0	5	0	28	−28
Jordan	3	0	1	2	1	13	−12
Kazakhstan	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10
Kuwait	8	0	1	7	1	30	−29
Kyrgyzstan	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2
Laos	2	0	2	0	3	3	0
Malaysia	7	0	1	6	0	23	−23
Macau	6	4	1	1	16	7	+9
Maldives	16	4	4	8	19	23	−4
Myanmar	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9
North Korea	4	0	0	4	1	11	−10
Northern Mariana Islands	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6
Oman	11	0	0	11	1	43	−42
Pakistan	19	6	5	8	20	25	−5
Palestine	4	0	2	2	0	3	−3
Philippines	6	1	1	4	2	14	−12
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7
Sri Lanka	17	4	6	7	20	25	−5
Singapore	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12
South Korea	8	0	0	8	1	55	−54
Syria	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5
Tajikistan	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6
Thailand	7	1	0	6	3	19	−16
Tibet	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6
Timor-Leste	3	2	1	0	7	1	+6
Turkmenistan	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	0	11	−11
Vietnam	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7
Yemen	4	0	1	3	1	7	−6
Total	238	54	38	146	206	569	−363

Competition history

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup finals record											FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points		Result	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1930	Non-FIFA Member										Non-FIFA Member
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970	Withdrew										Withdrew
1974
1978
1982
1986	Did not Qualify									3rd (Group 3A)		4	0	1	3	0	11	−11	1
1990										4th (Group 4)		6	0	0	6	0	28	−28	0
1994	Withdrew										Withdrew
1998	Did not Qualify									4th (Group 4)		6	0	1	5	2	19	−17	1
2002										3rd (Group 6)		6	2	0	4	13	25	−12	6
2006	Withdrew										Withdrew
2010	Did not Qualify									Round 1		2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0
2014										Round 2		4	2	1	1	7	11	−4	7
2018										Round 1		2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2022	TBD									TBD
Total	0/21	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7/21		30	4	4	22	22	100	−78	16

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup finals record											AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Host/Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points		Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1956	Non-AFC Member										Non-AFC Member
1960
1964
1968
1972	Withdrew										Withdrew
1976
1980
1984	Did Not Qualify									5th (Group 2)	4	0	0	4	0	30	−30	0
1988										5th (Group 3)	4	0	1	3	0	7	−7	1
1992	Withdrew										Withdrew
1996	Did Not Qualify									4th (Group 5)	6	0	0	6	2	26	−24	0
2000										4th (Group 5)	4	1	0	3	3	13	−10	3
2004										4th (Group E)	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2	3
2007	Withdrew										Withdrew
2011	Did Not Qualify									Withdrew & Berth Unsecured[lower-alpha 1]
2015										3rd (Group D)[lower-alpha 2]	3	1	1	1	6	2	+4	4
2019										Round 1[lower-alpha 3]	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2019	TBD									TBD
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	25	3	3	19	15	82	−67	12

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup finals record												AFC Challenge Cup qualification record
Host/Year	Result	Pts	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points		Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
2006	Semi Final	7	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	7		No qualification tournament
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	3	4	1	+3	3		1st (Group D)	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	6
2010	Did Not Qualify											2nd (Group C)	2	0	2	0	1	1	+0	2
2012	Round 1	0	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0	2nd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	1	1	+0	4
2014	Did Not Qualify										3rd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	6	2	+4	4
Total	3/5	10	7	1	3	7	8	10	−2	10	4/4	10	4	4	2	12	6	+6	16

AFC Solidarity Cup

Host/Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
2016	Champions	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10
2020	TBD
Total	1/1	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10

SAFF Championship

Host/Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1993	3rd	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
1995	4th	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1997	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
1999	4th	4	1	0	3	6	9	−3	3
2003	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2005	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	5	9	−4	3
2009	Round 1	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4
2011	Semi-Final	4	1	2	1	3	3	0	5
2013	Semi-Final	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7
2015	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
2018	Semi-Final	4	2	0	2	7	5	+2	6
2021	TBD
Total	10/10	38	11	6	21	43	55	6	39

Olympic Games

Host/Year	Result	Q	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1896	No football tournament was held
1900	Non-IOC Member
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1932	No football tournament was held
1936	Non-IOC Member
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964	Did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
Age bar restriction after 1996, U23s only.
2000	Did not enter
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020	TBD	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	-	0/25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Asian Games

Host/Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1951	Non-IOC Member
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew
1970
1974
1978
1982	Round 1	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0
1986	Round 1	4	0	0	4	0	17	−17	0
1990	Withdrew
1994	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	20	−20	0
1998	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0
	Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only.
Total	12/12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-51	0

South Asian Games

Host/Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1984	Gold	4	3	0	1	13	7	6	6[lower-alpha 4]
1985	Bronze	3	2	0	1	3	4	-1	4[lower-alpha 4]
1987	Silver	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	4[lower-alpha 4]
1989	4th	3	0	2	1	1	2	-1	2
1991	4th	3	0	1	2	2	5	-3	1
1993	Gold	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	7
1995	4th	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1999	Silver	5	3	0	2	12	7	+5	9
	Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only.
Total		27	12	4	11	43	32	11	36

Other tournaments

In these tournaments, Nepal was sometimes fielded as 'ANFA XI', 'Nepal XI', or 'Nepal Sports Development Authority' despite being the de facto national football team endorsed by the ANFA.

Host/Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Points	Team Name[lower-alpha 5]
1975 DCM Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 President's Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Agatha Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Aga Khan Gold Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	2	14	−12	1
1981 President's Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981 King's Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Darjeeling Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup	6th	6	1	2	3	3	9	−6	4[lower-alpha 4]
1982 King's Cup	Round 1	4	1	0	3	2	9	−7	2[lower-alpha 4]
1982 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament	Runner up	4	2	0	2	5	5	0	4[lower-alpha 4]
1983 Merdeka Tournament[49]	Round 1	5	0	0	5	0	14	-14	0
1983 President's Gold Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	0
1984 ANFA Cup	Runner up	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1985 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Round 1	0	0	0	2	0	9	−9	1
1986 Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup	4th	5	1	1	3	2	6	−4	3
1986 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	5th	3	1	1	3	4	17	−13	5
1986 ANFA Cup	Runner up	4	2	1	1	unknown[50]			3
1987 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Round 1	unknown[51]								unclear whether National team[52]
1987 ANFA Cup	Champions	unknown[53]
1989 Aga Khan Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1989 ANFA Cup	Runner up	4	2	0	2	3	6	-2	4[lower-alpha 4]
1995 Airlines Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997 Governor's Gold Cup	Champion	-	-	-	-	-	-	–	-
1998 Governor's Gold Cup[54]	Champion	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	ANFA XI
1998 Durand Cup[55]	Round 1	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3	Nepal XI
1999 Bangabandhu Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0
2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament	Runner up	2	2	1	1	4	2	+2	7	Nepal Red
2008 Merdeka Tournament	Round 1	3	0	1	2	3	9	−6	1
2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament	Champions	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10	Nepal Red
2012 Nehru Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	1	9	−8	1
2016 Bangabandhu Cup	Champions	5	3	2	0	8	1	+7	11
2018 Bangabandhu Cup	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	0	3	-3	11
Total	5 Titles	66	22	12	38	53	127	2	66

**Former rules, win = 2pts.

Honours

• Champion 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
• Champion 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup

Statistics

Most capped players

Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

As of 16 October 2019

Qualification: 50 caps

#	Player	Period	Caps	Goals
1	Biraj Maharjan	2008–present	72	2
2	Kiran Chemjong	2008–present	65	0
3	Sagar Thapa	2003-2015	62	1
4	Rohit Chand	2009–present	60	0
5	Bharat Khawas	2008–present	53	7
6	Anil Gurung	2007–2017	50	10

Top goalscorers

Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

As of 16 October 2019

Qualification: 5 goals

#	Player	Period	Goals	Caps
1	Hari Khadka	1996–2005	13	41
(=1)	Nirajan Rayamajhi	2002–2010	13	19
2	Jumanu Rai	2006–present	11	32
3	Anil Gurung	2007–2017	10	50
4	Bharat Khawas	2008–present	10	53
5	Bimal Gharti Magar	2012–present	8	33
6	Nawayug Shrestha	2014–present	6	26

See also

• All Nepal Football Association
• Nepal women's national football team
• Nepal national under-23 football team
• Nepal national under-20 football team
• Nepal national under-17 football team

Notes

1. Withdrew from qualification and failed to qualify for 2010 AFC Challenge Cup
2. Failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup
3. Also part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. prior to the Three points for a win rule
5. unless otherwise noted, the team played as the Nepal National Football Team

References

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External links

• Nepali football tournaments details - Nepal90
• Nepal FIFA profile
• Nepal national football team picture
• Nepali Football Team, Fixtures and Results