Kathmandu - Nepal has been defeated in an international friendly football match with the Philippines. Nepal lost 1-0 against the home team in the match held at the Rizal Memorial Ground in the Philippines on Thursday.
Gayoso scored in the 49th minute of the game for the Philippines. Nepal created some good opportunities in the game but could not convert.
Nepal played against the Philippines to prepare for the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship to be held in India. Nepal is far behind the Philippines in the FIFA rankings. Nepal is in 174th place while Philippines is in 136th place.
SAFF Championship will be held in Bengaluru, India from June 6 to 18. Along with Nepal, hosts India, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bhutan, Pakistan and Maldives are participating in the championship.
Kuwait and Lebanon are going to play SAFF as invited teams. The opening match between Nepal and Kuwait on June 6 will start at 4:00 PM Nepali time.
Kathmandu: Russia has defeated Bulgaria in a friendly match before the Euro Cup. Russia beat Bulgaria 1-0 in last night's match. Sobolev scored from the penalty spot in the 84th minute. Russia is ranked 38th in the FIFA rankings, while Bulgaria is ranked 71st.
Wales and Albania have played a goalless draw in last night's match. Wales, ranked 17th in the world, could not beat Albania, ranked 66th. Similarly, Sweden defeated Armenia 3-1. Euro Cup football is starting from next Friday night.
Iraq's Alaa Abdul's free-kick was converted into a goal. But Nepal equalized in the eighth minute of the match. Ahmed Ibrahim Khalaf of Iraq scored a suicide goal for Nepal while clearing the ball struck by Anjan Bista. Nepal scored 4 goals in the first half and 2 goals in the second half.
Nepal scored another goal in the 29th minute but could not win due to weakness of the defense. Now the Nepali team will go to Kuwait today. Nepal will play the remaining matches of the World Cup qualifiers in Kuwait. Nepal will play Chinese Taipei in Kuwait on June 3, Jordan on June 7 and Australia on June 11.
