Nepal officially finalizes 23 players to face Vietnam national team

The Nepal national team has finalized the official roster of 23 players heading to Vietnam for the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

On October 5th, coach Matt Ross announced the official squad of 23 players who will participate in the two matches against Vietnam in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers. Previously, the Australian coach had called up 33 players in the preliminary list for training.

The squad Nepal brings to Vietnam includes many young talents from the U20 and U23 levels such as Ayush Ghalan and Samit Shrestha. The most notable player among Nepal’s opponents is striker Anjan Bista, who has earned 70 caps and scored 13 goals for the national team. The captain’s armband will be worn by veteran goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong, who is 35 years old and has played 107 matches for Nepal.

Most of these players currently compete in the domestic league, with some playing in Bangladesh, Laos, or Indonesia.

Ranked 176th in the FIFA rankings, Nepal clearly is not on equal footing with Vietnam. According to Transfermarkt’s valuation, the Nepal team’s total value for this trip is about 1.5 million euros, which is nearly one-third of Vietnam’s squad value (5 million euros).

According to the schedule, Nepal will arrive in Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of October 7th, leaving them only one day to acclimate and prepare for the official match.

As for the Vietnam national team, they gathered on October 4th and will have their first official training session on the afternoon of October 5th at Gò Đậu Stadium. With home advantage, coach Kim Sang Sik’s team naturally aims to win both consecutive matches.

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