KATHMANDU, Aug 1: All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has finalized the 24-man squad on Tuesday, for the upcoming Japan tour.
Nepali national team which is leaving to Japan on August 11 to play friendly matches included three goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders and five forwards.
Out of the 24 players in the final squad, 20 players are from the team that was called-up to play against AFC Asian Cup 2019 Qualifiers match against Yemen held in Kathmandu last month.
However, goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu, defender Aditya Chaudhary and midfielder Rohit Chand who were in the 23-member squad announced to play against Yemen are the absentees.
Kiran and Rohit won’t be with Nepali team in Japan as they currently in Maldives and Indonesia respectively playing leagues there while Aditya Chaudhary is injured. Bishal Shrestha, Bimal Basnet and Bikram Lama have come into the team to replace Kiran, Aditya and Rohit respectively while Suman Lama also has secured his place in the final squad that is flying to Japan.
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The coaching team to fly to Japan with the players includes head coach Gyotoku Koji, coaches Raju Kaji Shakya and Ujjwal Manandhar.
Likewise, team manager Biraj Jung Shahi, team doctor Raju Dangol and interpreter Roshan Tuladhar will accompany the Nepali team.
The Nepali team which is leaving for Japan on the invitation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Japan Football Association (JFA) has taken this tour as the preparation for the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers match against Tajikistan scheduled for September 5 in Kathmandu.
During its 10-day Japan stay, Nepal will play five matches. Nepal will compete against two youth teams, two university teams and one regional club.
Besides that, Nepali team will also watch the training sessions of two J-league (Japanese first division) clubs and watch one match as well.
Nepal will kick off the tour taking on the U-23 team of Japanese first division outfit Gamba Osaka on August 13.
Three days later, Nepal will face Kwansei Gakuin University while in the third match it will compete against regional football team Amities Sports Club on August 17.
Likewise in the third match on August 18, Nepal will face Hanan University and later it will wrap up the tour playing against another Japanese first division club Vissel Kobe’s U-18 team.
Full squad
Goalkeepers: Bikesh Kuthu, Bishal Shrestha, Alan Neupane
Defenders: Biraj Maharjan, Ananta Tamang, Bimal Basnet, Devendra Tamang, Jitendra Karki, Kamal Shrestha, Rajendra Rawal, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Man Bahadur Tamang
Midfielders: Heman Gurung, Bishal Rai, Sujal Shrestha, Anjan Bista, Hemant Thapa Magar, Sunil Bal
Forwards: Anil Gurung, Bharat Khawash, Bimal Gharti Magar, Nawayug Shrestha, Suman Lama
