Nepal vs India, Men's International Football Friendly Highlights: Anirudh Thapa scores off a rebound to help India draw 1-1 with Nepal in the first of their two international friendlies.
Nepal and India played out an international friendly. (Indian Football Twitter Photo)
Nepal vs India, Friendly Men's International Football Highlights: India drew 1-1 against Nepal in the first of two international friendly in Kathmandu. Even after the target, India could not produce much material and Nepal was also successful in pushing India hard towards the end. Anirudh Thapa scored on a rebound to draw India level after Sunil Chhetri's thumping long-ranger was held out by Kiran Limbu. Anirudh Thapa and Rahim Ali have come in as half-time substitutes in place of Brandon Fernandes and Glenn Martins respectively. India did not score a single shot on target in the first half and Sunil Chhetri was completely out in the first 45 minutes. Anjan Bista made the best of India's defensive error in the 36th minute to give Nepal the lead.
The Indian men's football team will play its two friendly matches against Nepal at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday at 5:15 pm. Preparations are on for the SAFF Championships to be held in Maldives from October 3 to 13. Follow News18Sports live blog for all the match related updates.
This will be the first time that India will participate in an international game after playing Afghanistan in their final group match of the 2018 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup combined qualifiers in Qatar on June 15. The second friendly match against Nepal will take place on 5 September. On Wednesday, due to dark clouds in the sky, there is a possibility of rainy weather for the match. The pitch conditions at the practice ground were also already rough due to rain.
Head coach Igor Stimac felt that the two friendships would help India prepare well for next month's SAIF Championship. “We are happy to be here and be together again. These two international friendships will help us prepare for the SAFF Championships to be held in Maldives next month. I know these matches will be good and we need to learn on the pitch .
"I hope we don't have to face heavy rain during the matches so that we can play some exciting football," Stimac said. “We have analyzed Nepal as an opponent and the progress they have made in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. They have demonstrated that they can play quality football and defend as a team. My colleague has done a good job and the team has a lot of young players.
The talismanic India captain Sunil Chhetri is the favorite of the crowd. From landing at the airport to practice sessions at the team hotel, locals request him for a click.
“I will admit that I have a soft corner for Nepal. But, it ends when I step on the pitch. My mother is from Nepal and whatever sports culture and discipline I have been taught is because of my mother."
“Nepal has always made it very difficult for us on the football pitch, and we are not expecting anything less. Playing at home and outside Nepal are two different things and we must not forget that they are the home team here.
Nepal coach Abdullah Almutari admitted he has worked a lot on "changing the mindset of his players".
"I don't want to make people happy, but I want to make them proud. We have been training for the last two months and there are a lot of young players in the team.
"Our target is to win the SAFF Championship in Maldives, and eventually qualify for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023. We don't care about the FIFA rankings. It won't be easy for them (India)."
Read all the latest news, breaking news and coronavirus news here
