Nepal high on spirit for SAFF
KATHMANDU, AUG 29 -
Prakash Budathoki and Bishal Shrestha will be making their international debuts as Nepal’s head coach Jack Stefanowski and his assistant Richard Orlowski finalised the squad on Wednesday for the upcoming SAFF Championship, scheduled to kick off from August 31 at the Dashrath stadium.
Budathoki is drafted into the team for the first time while Shrestha is yet to make his debut despite being short-listed in the friendly matches before.
Similarly, Tanka Basnet, Bishal Shrestha, Sabindra Shrestha and Bimal Gharti Magar are marking their international comeback but Nirajan Khadka, Bijay Dhimal, Bijay Gurung, Tek Bahadur Budathoki and Ananta Tamang failed to retain their place.
The squad consist of three goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and five strikers with coaches planning to prepare a strong attacking formation.
Sparking light upon the preparation of the squad, coach Stefanowski said that they had tried their level best to prepare a ‘harmonious’ team that is equally balanced in the defense, midfield and attack.
“We are hopeful about being able to form the strong squad, capable of going all the way. Our foreground of selection was selecting players who are on pick of their form,” he said.
When inquired about the chances of Nepal hunting their maiden SAFF title at home, the tight-lipped coach said that the team is high on confidence with their concern founded upon the match against defending champions India.
“We had a successful Middle-East campaign, so our mentality is unwavering to entreat our desperate fans with biggest gift this time around. Match against India will be the toughest in the group stage but we are prepared to take on any teams in the competition.”
“We will be going into the tournament with five strikers as we will be resorting into offensive strategy with the mindset of taking the lead first and preserving it throughout.”
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