Kathmandu: Prime Minister’s Cup Three Nations Football is starting from Wednesday in Kathmandu.
Nepal, Laos and Bhutan are participating in the competition which will last till March 18. In the opening match of the tournament, Nepal and Laos will meet on Wednesday. This match will be played at 6 pm.
Nepal will enter the field with the plan of winning against Laos at home. Laos will also enter the field with a plan to win.
Nepal is going to play Laos for the first time since 2016. In the semi-final of the AFC Solidarity Cup, there was a competition between Nepal and Laos. In which, after a 2-2 draw, Nepal won the match 3-0 on penalties, and Kiran became the hero in the tri-breaker.
The top two teams will play for the title in the tournament based on round robin. Apart from the finals, the group stage matches have been recognized by FIFA as international friendly matches.
This tournament will be the first test for the new coach of the Nepali National Football Team, Vincenzo Alberto Enes. Italian coach Enes announced the 23-member team on Tuesday. Seven new faces have been included in the Nepali team this time.
The new players have been included in the national team based on their performance in the ‘A’ division league up to the fifth stage.
Goalkeeper Abhishek Baral, defenders Sanis Shrestha and Padam Bhattarai, midfielders Manikumar Lama and Naveen Lama and forwards Sumit Shrestha and Deepak Singh Thakuri have been included in the team for the first time.
After the regular players of the national team migrated abroad, the balance of the Nepali team has deteriorated.
According to ANFA, the winner of the competition will receive 5,000 US dollars, and the second runner-up will receive 3,000 dollars. The best player of the tournament will get 500 USD and the man of the match will get 250 USD.
