Kathmandu: Nepal lost 4-0 to UAE in the second round match under the joint qualification of FIFA World Cup 2026 and Asian Cup 2027.
UAE scored 2-2 goals in both halves in the match which was held at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Damman, Saudi Arabia as a neutral venue as the home ground was not suitable for playing.
Nepal suffered five consecutive defeats in Group H. So far, Nepal has not scored a single goal. Earlier, Nepal was defeated by 4-0 in the away ground against UAE.
UAE’s Harib Abdallah Suhail Al Mazmi scored two goals in two minutes to give UAE a 2-0 lead. He scored the first goal in the 12th minute of the game through Abdullah Idris’ cross.
Similarly, in the 14th minute, Abdallah controlled the pass arranged by Ali Saleh Amro inside the box and tricked a player to score the second goal.
Nepal also had a good chance to score in the first half. But Nepal became unlucky.
In the 37th minute, Nepal missed two good opportunities. Vishal Basnet’s header from Sanish Shrestha’s cross from inside the box hit the post. Sanjiv Bista’s shot on the rebound also hit the fence.
Before that, Gillespie Jang Karki’s 36th minute shot on Sunish’s cross could not take the direction of the post.
UAE added two goals in the second half. Ali Saleh scored in the 53rd minute and Hazeen Mohammad scored in the 75th minute.
In the 21st minute, coach Vincenzo Enes introduced Chiring Lama and Sanish Shrestha in place of debutants Basant Zimba and Saubhageya Rai, and Nepal showed some improvement.
Enes gave Basant Zimba, who was in the national team for the first time, an opportunity to debut by playing as the starting choice. But he could not last long.
Nepal will now play their last group match against Yemen on June 11 in Damman. Having lost five matches, Nepal will be aiming to score a goal and score points in the last match.
