Nepal vs Yemen

When Nepal hosts Yemen in the second round of their combined qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup on Tuesday at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, they will be under pressure to perform well at home.

Gorkhalis, led by coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese, were defeated 4-0 by United Arab Emirates in their qualifying encounter last week in Dubai. They now need to move over their setbacks in order to be considered for the third round and Asian Cup.

The UAE outperformed Nepal in every aspect, particularly in the first half when the Arab country scored all four goals to put the game out of reach.

However, Kiran Kumar Limbu, the captain and goalie, wants to bounce back from the setback in the UAE.

"We no longer remember our loss to the UAE. With a solid mentality, our players are prepared to face Yemen. At a pre-match press conference, the 33-year-old Limbu stated, "We are under pressure to win and the Yemen clash is very important if we are to progress further."

Nepal's resilient perseverance and unyielding defense throughout the second half of their match against the UAE prevented the Portuguese coach Paulo Bento's team from doing more harm.

Ananta Tamang sustained a knee injury during a training session, which prevented him from playing in that match. Tamang is still doubtful for the Yemen game despite his recovery. After being hurt, playmaker Laken Limbu was replaced after just 19 minutes of action against the UAE. Laken won't be participating in the conflict in Yemen.

With just seven players having played more than ten games for their country, Annese, who is still getting to know her youthful squad and lacks international experience, has yet another selection dilemma.

In order to compensate for Tamang's absence, Annese began rookie defender Chhiring Lama at defense and later on in the game, Anjan Rai came on to take Chhiring's place. In the second half, Yogesh Gurung also made his debut, taking Amrit Shrestha's place. Arik Bista and Ayush Ghalan were not included in the starting lineup against the UAE, but with Laken sidelined, Bista and Ghalan may be included against Yemen.

There have been four previous meetings between Yemen and Nepal. Nepal has suffered three losses and one tie. The teams last faced off in the third round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualification, where Nepal defeated Yemen in the second leg of Group F after holding the latter to a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg in March 2017.

Although Annese will have a tough time against Yemen, the Italian is shooting for three points.

"We committed a number of errors against the UAE. Since we desire three points, we will correct them. We'll play Yemen in a top-notch match," Annese declared.

Yemen was also injured and hurt after losing 2-0 to Bahrain in their qualifying match. Miroslav Soukup, the Yemeni coach, is cautious not to overlook his opponents as they aim to extend their winning record against Nepal.

They work well as a team. They performed admirably against the UAE's superiority. We won't be taking this game lightly," Soukup declared.

Group H is led by the UAE with three points. Despite having three points as well, Bahrain is in second place because of goal differential. Nepal is in fourth place and Yemen is in third.

In the second round, 36 teams are split up into nine groups of four teams each. Nine group winners and runners-up will advance to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and receive an automatic entry at the AFC Asian Cup. The teams will face each other on a home-and-away basis.