Kathmandu – Nepal lost to UAE in the first match of the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
Nepal defeated the home team by 4-0 in the match held at Al Maktoum Stadium last night,. UAE scored 4 goals in the first half. Captain Ali Mabkhout scored 2 and Khalifa Mubarak and Fabia Lima scored 1/1 for UAE.
Earlier, in the Asia Cup qualifier held in 1984, Nepal was defeated by UAE by a wide margin of 11-0 goals. Nepal will now play Yemen in the second qualifying match on Tuesday, November 5 at the Dasharath Stadium.
Nepal is in Group ‘H’ with Yemen, UAE and Bahrain. The second round matches will be played on a ‘home’ and ‘away’ basis.
The final match of the second round of qualifying will be held on June 6. Out of the 4 teams, the top 2 teams will qualify for the Asia Cup and will be selected for the third round of the World Cup.
In the first round, Nepal defeated Laos with a total of 2-1 goal difference and qualified for the second round.
