Nepal national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Nepal women's national football team.

Nepal

Nickname(s)	The Gorkhalis
Association	All Nepal Football Association (ANFA)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Captain	Kiran Chemjong
Most caps	Kiran Chemjong (103)
Top scorer	Hari Khadka Nirajan Rayamajhi Anjan Bista (13)
Home stadium	Dasharath Stadium
FIFA code	NEP
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	176 (24 October 2024)
Highest	124 (December 1993 – February 1994)
Lowest	196 (January 2016)
First international
China 6–2 Nepal (Beijing, China; 13 October 1972)
Biggest win
Nepal 7–0 Bhutan (Kathmandu, Nepal; 26 September 1999)
Biggest defeat
South Korea 16–0 Nepal (Incheon, South Korea; 29 September 2003)
SAFF Championship
Appearances	13 (first in 1993)
Best result	Runners-up (2021)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2016)
Best result	Champions (2016)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2006)
Best result	Semi-finals (2006)

The Nepal national football team (Nepali: नेपाल राष्ट्रिय फुटबल टिम) represents Nepal in International men's football, and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Nepali football team plays their home games at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

History

Origins (1921–1993)

Football in Nepal had been a national sport as early as 1921 during the Rana dynasty. Several clubs were formed and several domestic tournaments such as the Ram Janaki Cup (1934), and the Tribhuvan Challenge Shield (1948) were organized. In 1951, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) was founded, and this saw the formation of the Nepal national football team.

Emergence (1963–1970)

In 1963, Nepal appeared in their first international away game in the Aga Khan Gold Cup; the predecessor of the President's Gold Cup, Asia Champion Club Tournament, and Asian Club Championship (now rebranded as the AFC Champions League) after various associations (including ANFA) insisted on entering national teams instead of clubs. After Nepal entered an 18-man squad, ANFA flew the players to Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to play their first match. Nepal faced Western Railway, a Pakistani team in the Bangabandhu National Stadium. However, Nepal lost the match 0–7. Two days later, Nepal played the Dhaka Wanderers, a local East Pakistani team. This match was also lost 0–7. After two disastrous games, Nepal was sure to be knocked out of the preliminary round. The final game was against Dhaka Police Club, though, despite the previous heavy losses, Nepal managed to win the game with a single goal, Prakash Bikram Shah becoming the first Nepali to score on foreign soil. The goal was scored in the 19th minute.

Modernization & golden generation (1970–1999)

In 1970, Nepal became a member of FIFA. Two years later, Nepal joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). With this, Nepal played their first international match on 13 October 1972, where they lost 2–6 to the People's Republic of China. The first Nepali footballer to score the first international goal for Nepal in a FIFA-recognized tournament was Y.B Ghale. Ghale scored against Kuwait in the 1982 Asian Games. Despite the popularity of the game, the lack of appropriate footballing infrastructure and the dearth of trainers, technicians, and other facilities have always been obstacles in the way of the Nepali FA's endeavors to raise the standard of football among the players of a nation that has an official per capita income of just 1,196 US dollars. The woes of Nepali football, however, have been immensely relieved by FIFA's determination to promote football in Nepal through youth programs.

1984 South Asian Games gold medal winning Nepal national team

In the mid-1980s, FIFA provided financial assistance and sent a number of coaches to help Nepal's federation to launch its first youth program, which was geared towards spotting talent at the grassroots level (such as in schools, for example) and providing young players with the necessary know-how, both on and off the pitch. The initial five-year plan helped half the players groomed under the first youth program to find a place in the national side, and the team that won the 2 gold medals in the first and sixth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games mostly consisted of the players from that youth program. Despite Nepal being considered among the lower-ranked nations, Nepal has been largely successful in the South Asian Games where they won two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.

Nepal hosted several notable friendlies from teams outside the Asian Confederation during the mid to late 80s, against Denmark in 1986; USSR and East Germany in 1987; and West Germany in 1989. While at the same time, Nepal still entered tournaments against club sides such as FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast in the 1989 ANFA Cup.

Nepal continued on with their winning ways through several minor tournaments which saw the nation showered with titles including the 1997 and 1998 Governor's Gold Cup, winning gold at the 1993 South Asian Games, and reaching 3rd place in the 1993 South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup (the first edition of the SAFF Championship).

Decline (2000–2009)

The Nepali football came across a forgettable two years from 2001 to 2003 when the row between two factions (government-backed and FIFA-backed) led Nepali football into deep trouble. Nepal faced a ban and therefore could not participate in any events and the rankings slipped heavily. The dispute was settled, but not before it contributed to pushing Nepali football backward. Nepal celebrated their 100th international football match in January 2003 when they played Bangladesh in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. Nepal failed to make any real impact at the tournament. During its 22 years of international participation, the Nepali team has only played 26 nations outside of South Asia, but it has defeated all of the country's South Asian neighbors during various regional tournaments. Nepal also faced non-AFC teams in competitive tournaments such as Ghana U23 in the 1999 Bangabandhu Cup, and Kazakhstan in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign (although Kazakhstan was a member of the AFC during this match).

In 2002, Nepal also faced a 7 match football series against Afghanistan and Afghanistan defeated Nepal 7-0 in that series.

Despite many attempts to raise the standard of football, the players of the resource-strapped nation have not been able to make their mark in international football beyond South Asia. In 2003 during the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, Nepal's A national team suffered a number of heavy defeats in international matches outside of South Asia. In a match during the Asian Cup qualifying round in South Korea, the hosts scored 16 goals to no reply. In their six matches, Nepal conceded 45 goals and failed to hit the back of the net even once. However, the qualifying competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup witnessed one of Nepal's best performances in international football, with the Gorkhalis securing two wins in four matches and scoring 13 goals in two matches against Macao and Iraq. But with the Nepali national and youth teams failing to achieve any noticeable success at the international level and FIFA introducing new age restriction systems in several international tournaments, Nepal recently decided to compete only in the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers as well as the SAFF Championship until 2006.

Resurgence (2010–present)

Nepal playing XI against India at the 2021 SAFF Championship final

After the marquee appointments of Graham Roberts, Nepal had experienced a fair amount of success following the decade of decline. Nepal won Saff U-19 championship in 2015 and 3 major tournaments in 2016, the Bangabandhu Cup and the AFC Solidarity Cup and won a gold medal in 2016 South Asian Games. Nepal lost no match in 2016.

Nepal managed a good performance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, even though the team was chosen as a replacement for the Guam national football team as Guam chose not to participate. Nepal had two successful draws against much stronger Philippines and Yemen at home, both ended 0–0. However, as the team lost to Tajikistan twice and away loss to the Philippines and Yemen, the Nepalis failed to qualify to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Nepal participated in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification where they have to face strong Australia, Kuwait and Jordan, alongside minnows Chinese Taipei. The Nepalis only managed one single win over Chinese Taipei away 2–0 and lost to the other opponents without scoring a goal after five matches.

Nepal participated in the 2021 SAFF Championship and managed to reach the tournament final where they were defeated 0–3 by India.

In October 2023, Nepal participated in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Laos. The first leg contested in a goalless draw between both team where else on 17 October 2023, Manish Dangi scored the only goal in the match to secure the victory for Nepal seeing them advanced to the second round.

In March 2024, Nepal lost to Bahrain 0–3 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match which eliminated the team from advancing to the next round.

Home stadium

Main article: Dasarath Rangasala Stadium

Dasarath Rangasala Stadium

The team's home ground is various around the nation one of the ground being Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. Holding 15,000 spectators all of which are beautifully seated. It is the biggest stadium in Nepal. It is named after Dashrath Chand, one of the martyrs of Nepal.

Most recently, the stadium was used as a primary venue for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup and the 2013 SAFF Championship, with the Halchowk Stadium hosting some of the matches as well.

Apart from sporting events, the stadium is also used as a music venue for cultural events with Bryan Adams being the most notable act that performed at the site.

Before the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal, the stadium underwent a heavy renovation that saw several improvements such as the expansion of seats from 20,000 to 28,000.

The country also has some recently added stadiums that include Pokhara football stadium located at Pokhara Rangasala which has recently been constructed in 2021.

Team image

Kit evolution

The national team's kit employs a tricolor of red, blue, and white to reflect the colors of the national flag of Nepal. With red being used for home matches, and blue for away. The pattern in some kits reflects the triangular shaping of the flag, namely the 2013 kit. Nepal's kits are mostly template kits, as opposed to a custom team-specific kit. This is because the Nepal national team isn't lucrative enough to afford kit partnership deals with manufacturers.

Very little is known about the history prior to 1998. However, during the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, the Nepali national team hired Bijay Shah to provide technical assistance to the squad, while also acting as the assistant coach. At the time, the team didn't have printed sportswear for the tournament. After printing makeshift kits, Bijay was inspired to start a T-shirt printing company known as , where through the partnership with a US printing company, and colleagues in South Korea, they produced their first batch of kits for the national team prior to the 1999 South Asian Games.

On 4 March 2019, ANFA has revealed two new jerseys for members of the national football team along with new national football anthem. The new jerseys have ANFA logo on the left where used to be national flag in the old jerseys. There is also national flag and picture of Mount Everest above the ANFA logo. This new sign is designed by Sandeep Tiwari. ANFA also made provision of white jerseys for friendly matches.

In 2021, ANFA ended the contract with Kelme, the previous kit sponsor, and signed with KTM CTY.

Nepal Red & Blue

See also: Nepal national football B team

During the ANFA Cup, the All Nepal Football Association occasionally entered two teams for Nepal; Nepal Red & Nepal Blue. This is very much akin to other South Asian teams such as Pakistan (Pakistan Green & Pakistan White, 1993 SAFF Championship; Pakistan Reds, 1976 Quaid-e-Azam exhibition matches), and Bangladesh (Bangladesh Red, 1983 President's Gold Cup). Nepal Red was a selection of Nepali players that played as the full Nepal national football team. Whereas, Nepal Blue was effectively the B-team.

Most of the Nepali top players play in the Nepal Red team, and it is also described as "the Nepal senior team", and is captained by the regular national team captain. While Nepal Blue is described as the "second string team".

Results and fixtures

Main article: Nepal national football team results (2010–present)

See also: Nepal national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

United Arab Emirates v Nepal

16 November 2023 (2023-11-16) 2026 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	4–0	Nepal	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:45 UTC+4	Al Hammadi 11' Mabkhout 36' (pen.), 44' Lima 45+1'	Report		Stadium: Al Maktoum Stadium Attendance: 3,640 Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Nepal v Yemen

21 November 2023 2026 World Cup qualification	Nepal	0–2	Yemen	Kathmandu, Nepal
19:00 UTC+5:45		Report	O.Al-Dahi 72' M.Al-Dahi 90'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Attendance: 13,735 Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)

2024

Malaysia v Nepal

15 March 2024 Unofficial Friendly	Malaysia	5–1	Nepal	Shah Alam, Malaysia
	Lok 31' (pen.), 36' Wilkin 46' Ting 48' Mukhairi 135'	Report	Tamang 68'	Stadium: UiTM Stadium

Nepal v Bahrain

21 March 2024 (2024-03-21) 2026 World Cup qualification	Nepal	0–5	Bahrain	Riffa, Bahrain
22:00 UTC+3		Report	Al-Humaidan 2' Baqer 4' Madan 45+4' Al-Khattal 87' Abdullatif 90+6'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 5,041 Referee: Alex King (Australia)

Bahrain v Nepal

26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) 2026 World Cup qualification	Bahrain	3–0	Nepal	Riffa, Bahrain
22:00 UTC+3	Baqer 7' Helal 18' Al-Aswad 36'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)		Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 2,475 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto (Japan)

England C v Nepal

6 May 2024 Unofficial Friendly	England C	2–0	Nepal	Aldershot, England
	Kabamba 8' Stead 13'	Report		Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 5,560 Referee: Tom Owen (Wales)

Nepal v United Arab Emirates

6 June 2024 (2024-06-06) 2026 World Cup qualification	Nepal	0–4	United Arab Emirates	Dammam, Saudi Arabia
19:00 UTC+3		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Abdalla 12', 14' Saleh 53' Mohammad 75'	Stadium: Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Attendance: 2,450 Referee: Payam Heydari (Iran)

Yemen v Nepal

11 June 2024 (2024-06-11) 2026 World Cup qualification	Yemen	2–2	Nepal	Dammam, Saudi Arabia
21:00 UTC+3	Nasser 9' (pen.) Abdullah 91'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Bista 22' Karki 66'	Stadium: Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Attendance: 905 Referee: Ahmad Ibrahim (Jordan)

Tajikistan v Nepal

13 November Friendly	Tajikistan	4–0	Nepal	Dushanbe, Tajikistan
18:00 UTC+5	Mabatshoev 19', 45' A.Dzhalilov 29', 50'	Report		Stadium: Central Republican Stadium

Nepal v Afghanistan

16 November Friendly	Nepal	v	Afghanistan	Dushanbe,Tajikistan
18:00 UTC+5				Stadium: Central Republican Stadium

2025

Nepal v TBD

25 March 2027 ACQ – 3R

Nepal

v

TBD

Nepal

TBD v Nepal

10 June 2027 ACQ – 3R

TBD

v

Nepal

TBD

TBD v Nepal

9 October 2027 ACQ – 3R

TBD

v

Nepal

TBD

Nepal v TBD

14 October 2027 ACQ – 3R

Nepal

v

TBD

Nepal

TBD v Nepal

18 November 2027 ACQ – 3R

TBD

v

Nepal

TBD

2026

Nepal v TBD

31 March 2027 ACQ – 3R

Nepal

v

TBD

Nepal

Coaching staff

As of September 2024

Team manager	Uttam Raj Bhandari
Head coach
Assistant coach	Chetan Ghimire
Goalkeeping coach	Manish Timilsina
Physiotherapist	Avishkar Pudasaini
Kit Manager	Bikash Gurung

Coaching history

As of September 2024

Head coach	Career	P	W	D	L	Win %	Competitions	Comment	Ref.
Rudi Gutendorf	1981–82	—	−	−	−	—	1982 Asian Games
Jochen Figge	1984–85	—	−	−	−	—	1984 South Asian Games: Gold medalist
Rudi Gutendorf	1986	—	−	−	−	—
Joe Kinnear	1987	—	−	−	−	—	1987 South Asian Games: Silver medalist
Reinhard Fabisch	1989	—	−	−	−	—
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1989–91	—	−	−	−	—
Maheshwor Mulmi Holger Obermann	1991–93	—	−	−	−	—	1991 South Asian Games 1993 SAARC Gold Cup: Third place	Although both Obermann and Mulmi were heavily involved in the national team during these years, Obermann was hired by the All Nepal Football Association as a 'Technical Director'
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1993–94	—	−	−	−	—	1993 South Asian Games: Gold medalist 1994 Asian Games
Maheshwor Mulmi	1995	—	−	−	−	—	1995 Bristol SAFF Gold Cup
Yogambar Suwal	1995	—	−	−	−	—	1995 South Asian Games
Bhim Thapa	1996	—	−	−	−	—	1996 AFC Asian Cup: Failed to qualify
Yogambar Suwal	1997	—	−	−	−	—	1998 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1997	—	−	−	−	—	1997 SAFF Gold Cup
Yoo Kee-heung	1998	—	−	−	−	—	1998 Asian Games
Torsten Spittler	1999	—	−	−	−	—	1999 SAFF Gold Cup: Fourth place
Stephen Constantine	1999–01	—	−	−	−	—	1999 South Asian Games: Silver medalist 2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament: Finalist
Maheshwor Mulmi	2001	—	−	−	−	—	2002 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Yoo Kee-heung	2003	—	−	−	−	—	2003 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Toshihiko Shiozawa	2005–06	—	−	−	−	—	2005 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Shyam Thapa	2006–07	—	−	−	−	—	2006 AFC Challenge Cup: Semi-final 2010 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Thomas Flath	2008	—	−	−	−	—	2008 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Birat Krishna Shrestha	2008	—	−	−	−	—	2008 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage
Krishna Thapa	2008–09	—	−	−	−	—	2008 Merdeka Tournament: Group stage
Yogamber Suwal	2009	—	−	−	−	—	2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament: Champions 2010 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Krishna Thapa	2009–11	—	−	−	−	—	2009 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Graham Roberts	2011–12	—	−	−	−	—	2011 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2014 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify 2012 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage	Reached Round 2 in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time
Krishna Thapa	2012	—	−	−	−	—	2012 Nehru Cup
Jack Stefanowski	2013	—	−	−	−	—	2013 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2014 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Raju Kaji Shakya	2014	—	−	−	−	—
Jack Stefanowski	2014–15	—	−	−	−	—	2018 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Dhruba KC	2015	—	−	−	−	—
Patrick Aussems	2015–16	3	0	0	3	000	2015 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2016	5	3	2	0	060	2016 Bangabandhu Cup: Champions	Earned Nepal's first major title in 23 years
Koji Gyotoku	2016–18	13	4	5	4	031	2016 AFC Solidarity Cup: Champions	Earned Nepal's first AFC title
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2018	6	2	0	4	033	2018 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2018 Bangabandhu Cup: Group stage	Interim Coach
Johan Kalin	2019–20	6	1	2	3	017
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2020–21	5	1	3	1	020
Abdullah Al Mutairi	2021–22	18	5	2	11	028	2021 SAFF Championship runner up
Pradip Humagain	2022	1	1	0	0	100
Interim coach
Prabesh Katuwal	2022	1	1	0	0	100
Vincenzo Alberto Annese	2023–24	10	3	3	4	33	2023 SAFF Championship: Group stage

Players

Main article: List of Nepal international footballers

Current squad

The following players were called up for friendly matches against Afghanistan and Tajikistan on 13 and 16 November 2024.

Caps and goals are correct as of 11 June 2024 after the game against Yemen.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Kiran Chemjong (captain)	(1990-03-20) 20 March 1990	102	0	Free Agent
	1GK	Deep Karki	(1998-01-09) 9 January 1998	5	0	Church Boys United
	1GK	Bishal Sunar	(2002-02-09) 9 February 2002	1	0	Friends Club
	2DF	Rohit Chand	(1992-03-01) 1 March 1992	92	0	Persik Kediri
	2DF	Sanish Shrestha	(2000-11-09) 9 November 2000	17	0	Church Boys United
	2DF	Chhiring Lama	(2002-04-07) 7 April 2002	5	0	Church Boys United
	2DF	Bimal Panday	(1990-01-21) 21 January 1990	3	0	Tribhuwan Army Club
	2DF	Abhishek Limbu	(1999-08-21) 21 August 1999	2	0	Chyasal Youth Club
	2DF	Abhishek Waiba		0	0
	2DF	Anjal Maharjan	(2002-02-02) 2 February 2002	0	0	Pokhara Thunders
	2DF	Randip Paudyal	(2002-10-06) 6 October 2002	0	0	Dhangadhi
	3MF	Bharat Khawas	(1991-07-22) 22 July 1991	63	10	Tribhuwan Army Club
	3MF	Manish Dangi	(2001-09-17) 17 September 2001	33	4	Free Agent
	4FW	Ayush Ghalan	(2004-02-21) 21 February 2004	26	2	Church Boys United
	2DF	Arik Bista	(2000-03-17) 17 March 2000	25	0	Shillong Lajong FC
	3MF	Utsav Rai	(2003-11-29) 29 November 2003	6	0	Chitwan
	3MF	Mani Kumar Lama	(1996-03-24) 24 March 1996	4	0	Butwal Lumbini
	3MF	Sumit Shrestha	(2004-01-30) 30 January 2004	2	0	Jhapa
	3MF	Rohan Karki	(2002-09-21) 21 September 2002	0	0	Church Boys United
	3MF	Arbind Rai		0	0
	4FW	Anjan Bista	(1998-05-15) 15 May 1998	65	13	Church Boys United
	4FW	Gillespye Jung Karki	(1998-11-19) 19 November 1998	9	1	Butwal Lumbini
	2DF	Nirajan Dhami	(2005-06-02) 2 June 2005	0	0	Butwal Lumbini

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to a Nepal squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Abishek Baral	(2000-04-09) 9 April 2000	0	0	Kathmandu Rayzrs	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
DF	Ananta Tamang	(1998-01-17) 17 January 1998	64	4	Church Boys United	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
DF	Saubhagya Rai	(1997-06-23) 23 June 1997	4	0	Pokhara Thunders	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
DF	Bishal Basnet	(2002-04-29) 29 April 2002	3	0	Khumaltar	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
DF	Ajay Chaudhury	(2004-03-19) 19 March 2004	0	0	New Road Team	v. Bahrain; 26 March 2024
DF	Yogesh Gurung	(2002-03-17) 17 March 2002	2	0	Jhapa	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
DF	Anjan Rai	(1994-12-15) 15 December 1994	1	0	Kathmandu Rayzrs	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
DF	Amrit Shrestha	(1996-12-29) 29 December 1996	2	0	Chitwan	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
MF	Laken Limbu	(2002-07-24) 24 July 2002	13	0	Delhi	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
MF	Basnat Jimba	(2000-06-20) 20 June 2000	1	0	Tribhuwan Army Club	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
MF	Aashish Rai	(2003-02-24) 24 February 2003	0	0	New Road Team	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
MF	Sesehang Aangdembe	(2000-11-03) 3 November 2000	9	0	Lalitpur City	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
MF	Nishan Hamal	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000	0	0	Nepzum	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
MF	Kritish Ratna Chhunju	(2003-04-11) 11 April 2003	0	0	Dhangadhi	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
FW	Hisub Thapaliya	(1999-01-16) 16 January 1999	9	0	Kathmandu Rayzrs	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
FW	Sanjeeb Bista	(2002-02-17) 17 February 2002	4	1	Pokhara Thunders	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
FW	Aashik Babu Chaudhary	(2001-02-26) 26 February 2001	0	0	Tribhuwan Army Club	v. Yemen; 11 June 2024
FW	Dinesh Henjan	(2001-02-03) 3 February 2001	6	0	Lalitpur City	v. Bahrain; 26 March 2024
FW	Samir Tamang	(2006-01-01) 1 January 2006	1	0	Free agent	v. Bahrain; 26 March 2024
FW	Rajesh Pariyar	(2000-01-29) 29 January 2000	1	0	Chitwan	v. Yemen; 21 November 2023
Notes INJ = Withdrew due to injury. PRE = Preliminary squad / standby. RET = Retired from the national team. SUS = Serving suspension. WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

As of 11 June 2024

Players in bold are still active with Nepal.

Most appearances

Kiran Chemjong is Nepal's highest capped player with 102 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Kiran Chemjong	102	0	2008–present
2	Rohit Chand	92	0	2009–present
3	Raju Kaji Shakya	91	0	1982–1997
4	Biraj Maharjan	76	1	2008–2021
5	Sagar Thapa	66	1	2003–2015
6	Anjan Bista	65	13	2014–present
7	Ananta Tamang	64	4	2015–present
8	Bharat Khawas	63	10	2008–present
9	Nawayug Shrestha	54	10	2015–present
10	Anil Gurung	53	10	2007–2017
	Ju Manu Rai	53	11	2006–2015
	Sandip Rai	53	4	2008–2015

Top goalscorers

Anjan Bista is Nepal's joint-top scorer with 13 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Nirajan Rayamajhi	13	21	0.62	2000–2008
	Hari Khadka	13	39	0.33	1995–2006
	Anjan Bista	13	65	0.2	2014–present
4	Ju Manu Rai	11	53	0.21	2006–2015
5	Anil Gurung	10	53	0.19	2007–2017
	Nawayug Shrestha	10	54	0.19	2015–present
	Bharat Khawas	10	63	0.16	2008–present
8	Bimal Gharti Magar	9	44	0.2	2012–present
9	Basanta Thapa	8	34	0.24	1998–2006
10	Naresh Joshi	6	15	0.4	1997–2000

Competitive record

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1930 to 1970	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member
1974 to 1982	Did not enter										Did not enter
1986	Did not qualify									3rd (Group 3A)	4	0	1	3	0	11	−11	1
1990										4th (Group 4)	6	0	0	6	0	28	−28	0
1994	Did not enter										Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									4th (Group 4)	6	0	1	5	2	19	−17	1
2002										3rd (Group 6)	6	2	0	4	13	25	−12	6
2006	Withdrew										Withdrew
2010	Did not qualify									Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0
2014										Round 2	4	2	1	1	8	11	−3	7
2018										Round 1	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2022										Round 2	8	2	0	6	4	22	−18	6
2026										Round 2	8	1	2	5	4	21	–17	5
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
Total	0/14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8/22	46	7	6	33	31	143	−112	27

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1956	Not an AFC member										Not an AFC member
1960
1964
1968
1972	Withdrew										Withdrew
1976
1980
1984	Did not qualify									5th (Group 2)	4	0	0	4	0	30	−30	0
1988										5th (Group 3)	4	0	1	3	0	7	−7	1
1992	Withdrew										Withdrew
1996	Did not qualify									4th (Group 5)	6	0	0	6	2	26	−24	0
2000										4th (Group 5)	4	1	0	3	3	13	−10	3
2004										4th (Group E)	8	1	0	7	4	45	-41	3
2007	Withdrew										Withdrew
2011	Did not qualify									Withdrew and berth unsecured
2015										2014 AFC Challenge Cup
2019										Round 1	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2023										Round 3	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0
2027	To be determined									To be determined
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	30	2	2	26	10	129	−119	8

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup record												Qualification record
Year	Position	Pts	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2006	Semi-finals	7	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	7		No qualification tournament
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	3	4	1	+3	3		1st (Group D)	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	6
2010	Did not qualify											2nd (Group C)	2	0	2	0	1	1	+0	2
2012	Round 1	0	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0	2nd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	1	1	+0	4
2014	Did not qualify										3rd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	6	2	+4	4
Total	3/5	10	7	1	3	7	8	10	−2	10	4/4	10	4	4	2	12	6	+6	16

AFC Solidarity Cup

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2016	Champions	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10
2020	Cancelled
Total	1/1	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10

SAFF Championship

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1993	Third place	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
1995	Fourth place	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1997	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
1999	Fourth place	4	1	0	3	6	9	−3	3
2003	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2005	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	5	9	−4	3
2009	Round 1	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4
2011	Semi-finals	4	1	2	1	3	3	0	5
2013	Semi-finals	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7
2015	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
2018	Semi-finals	4	2	0	2	7	5	+2	6
2021	Runners-up	5	2	1	2	5	7	–2	7
2023	Group stage	3	1	0	2	2	5	–3	3
Total	12/12	46	14	7	25	50	67	–17	49

Olympic Games

See also: Nepal national under-23 football team

Year	Position	Q	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1896	No football tournament held
1900	Not an IOC Member
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1932	No football tournament held
1936	Not an IOC Member
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964	Did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
Age bar restriction after 1996, U23s only
2000	Did not enter
2004
2008
2012
2016	Did not qualify
2020
2024
Total	—	0/28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Asian Games

See also: Nepal national under-23 football team

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1951	Not an IOC Member
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew
1970
1974
1978
1982	Round 1	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0
1986	Round 1	4	0	0	4	0	17	−17	0
1990	Withdrew
1994	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	20	−20	0
1998	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0
Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only
Total	4/13	12	0	0	12	1	52	−51	0

South Asian Games

See also: Nepal national under-20 football team and Nepal national under-23 football team

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1984	Gold	4	3	0	1	13	7	+6	6
1985	Bronze	3	2	0	1	3	4	–1	4
1987	Silver	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	4
1989	4th	3	0	2	1	1	2	–1	2
1991	4th	3	0	1	2	2	5	–3	1
1993	Gold	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	7
1995	4th	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1999	Silver	5	3	0	2	12	7	+5	9
Age bar restriction after 1999, U23s only
Total	2 titles	27	12	4	11	43	32	+11	36

Other tournaments

In these tournaments, Nepal was sometimes fielded as 'ANFA XI', 'Nepal XI', or 'Nepal Sports Development Authority' despite being the de facto national football team endorsed by the ANFA.

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Team Name
1975 DCM Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 President's Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Agatha Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Aga Khan Gold Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	2	14	1
1981 President's Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981 King's Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Darjeeling Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup	6th	6	1	2	3	3	9	−6	4
1982 King's Cup	Round 1	4	1	0	3	2	9	−7	2
1982 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	5	5	0	4
1983 Merdeka Tournament	Round 1	5	0	0	5	0	14	–14	0
1983 President's Gold Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	0
1984 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1985 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Round 1	0	0	0	2	0	9	−9	1
1986 Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup	4th	5	1	1	3	2	6	−4	3
1986 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	5th	3	1	1	3	4	17	−13	5
1986 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	4	2	1	1	unknown			3
1987 Quaid-E-Azam International Cup	Round 1	unknown								unclear whether National team
1987 ANFA Cup	Champions	unknown
1989 Aga Khan Gold Cup	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1989 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	3	6	–2	4
1995 Airlines Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997 Governor's Gold Cup	Champions	-	-	-	-	-	-	–	-
1998 Governor's Gold Cup	Champions	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	ANFA XI
1998 Durand Cup	Round 1	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3	Nepal XI
1999 Bangabandhu Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0
2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament	Runners-up	2	2	1	1	4	2	+2	7	Nepal Red
2008 Merdeka Tournament	Round 1	3	0	1	2	3	9	−6	1
2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament	Champions	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10	Nepal Red
2012 Nehru Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	1	9	−8	1
2016 Bangabandhu Cup	Champions	5	3	2	0	8	1	+7	11
2018 Bangabandhu Cup	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	0	3	-3	11
2021 Three Nations Cup	Champions	3	1	2	0	1	1	+1	11
Total	6 titles	69	23	14	38	55	128	2	66

**Former rules, win = 2pts.

Head-to-head record

Updated 11 June 2024 after match against Yemen

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Afghanistan	6	3	1	2	10	4	+6
Australia	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
Bahrain	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
Bangladesh	28	9	5	14	23	34	−11
Bhutan	15	13	2	0	45	7	+38
Brunei	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2
Cambodia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
China	4	0	0	4	2	31	−29
Chinese Taipei	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4
Hong Kong	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
India	23	2	4	17	9	41	−32
Indonesia	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9
Iran	5	0	0	5	0	25	−25
Iraq	4	0	0	4	5	22	−17
Japan	5	0	0	5	0	28	−28
Jordan	4	0	1	4	1	18	-17
Kazakhstan	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10
Kuwait	9	0	1	8	2	33	−31
Kyrgyzstan	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2
Laos	6	4	2	0	9	6	+3
Malaysia	7	0	1	6	0	23	−23
Macau	6	4	1	1	16	7	+9
Maldives	17	5	4	8	20	23	−3
Mauritius	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2
Myanmar	5	0	1	4	0	10	−10
North Korea	4	0	0	4	1	11	−10
Northern Mariana Islands	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6
Oman	12	0	0	12	3	50	−47
Pakistan	22	9	5	8	23	25	−2
Palestine	4	0	2	2	0	3	−3
Philippines	7	1	1	5	2	15	−13
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7
Sri Lanka	17	4	7	6	20	25	−5
Singapore	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12
South Korea	8	0	0	8	1	55	−54
Syria	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5
Tajikistan	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6
Thailand	8	0	0	8	3	21	-18
Tibet	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6
East Timor	4	2	2	0	9	3	+6
Turkmenistan	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
United Arab Emirates	3	0	0	3	0	19	−19
Vietnam	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7
Yemen	6	0	2	4	3	11	−8
Total	275	67	44	164	237	639	−402

Honours

Continental

• AFC Solidarity Cup
  • Champions (1): 2016

Regional

• South Asian Games
  • Gold medal (2): 1984, 1993
  • Silver medal (2): 1987, 1999
  • Bronze medal (1): 1985
• SAFF Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 2021
  • Third place (1): 1993

Friendly

• ANFA Cup
  • Champions (2): 1987, 2009
• Governor's Gold Cup
  • Champions (2): 1997, 1998
• Bangabandhu Cup
  • Champions (1): 2016
• Three Nations Cup
  • Champions (1): 2021
• Prime Minister's Three Nations Cup
  • Champions (1): 2023

Summary

Competition				Total
AFC Solidarity Cup	1	0	0	1
SAFF Championship	0	1	1	2
South Asian Games	2	2	1	5
Total	3	3	2	8

See also

• All Nepal Football Association
• Nepal national football team (2010–present)
• Nepal national under-23 football team
• Nepal national under-20 football team
• Nepal national under-17 football team
• Nepal women's national football team

External links

• Nepali football tournaments details - Nepal90
• Nepal at AFC
• Nepal at FIFA
• Nepal national football team picture Archived 29 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Nepali Football Team, Fixtures and Results