Future of Women football bright with U19 team’s success

The under-19 women’s national football team has shown the prospect of Nepali women’s football’s future is bright after they achieved the milestone of reaching the second round of the AFC U19 Women’s Championship Qualifier held in Thailand. The team full of potential female players came into the limelight after finishing runners up at the SAFF U18 held in Bhutan.

Looking at their performance in Bhutan, All Nepal Football Association sent the same team to Thailand believing they could make to the second round of qualification. The young girls proved the decision of the nation’s governing body right after reaching the second round. The ride to the second round, however, was not easy for the Nepali girl.

Their berth to the second round was uncertain till the last match of the Group D Qualifiers after three out of four teams finished with equal six points. Thailand, Nepal and India all finished with two wins and one defeat only to decide the fate of the team to go through by head-to-head basis. Thailand won the group as Nepal finished at second and India trailed at the third position in the goal difference while Pakistan returned home conceding 45 goals in the tourney.

As a host of the AFC U19 final round, Thailand has already booked their berth. So according to the AFC Rule, Nepal proceeded to the Round 2 as the runners up. Though Nepal rode on hard work and luck to advance, their road to Round 2 will be very tough. They will be meeting strong opponents Australia, Uzbekistan, Korea Republic, Vietnam, Iran, Lebanon and Myanmar. The top four teams of Round 2 will advance to the Finals. Finishing at the top four will be difficult for Nepal with the competition against high-level teams. With five months remaining for Round 2, the training needed to be started promptly.

Nepal had the heartbreaking beginning in the tourney after losing the opener against Thailand by 3-0. The strategy of Nepali coach Hari Om Shrestha in opener showed that Nepal overestimated the strength of the host. Nepal played a defensive game in the first half undermining its own potential. Coach Shrestha, who has been looking at the team for two and a half months, went wrong with his decision to stranglehold the defence to stop the Thailand strikers when Nepal conceded two goals in the first half.

After his strategy went counterproductive in the first half, Coach Shrestha decided to go offensive with two strikers which helped Nepal stop Thailand for blank for 45 minutes. But the defensive error cost Nepal one goal in the injury time. Goalkeeper Anjana impressed with her brilliant goal-saving skills as she was kept busy in the first half by Thai players. Defender Puja Rana, striker Alisha zamba and midfielder Manisha Raut also won the praise of coach.

The loss against host and the 18-0 thrashing victory of India over Pakistan put Nepal under pressure in their second outing. Nepal needs to win at any cost against India if they want to keep the hope of reaching the next round of Qualifiers alive. Coach believed the result against India will decide the team to qualify for the next round and he was not worried about Pakistan as they were the weakest team of the qualifier.

Despite being in do or die situation, Nepal was confident of beating India as they had tasted the victory against the southern neighbour in the penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the SAFF U18 Championship. Nepal overwhelmed India with the attack from the start of the game, but they struggled for the goal in the first half. Their relentless effort paid in the second half, thanks to striker Rekha Poudel. Striker Poudel scored two goals in the victory of India.

However, Nepal’s performance against Pakistan slopped as the players were in a hurry to score as many goals in their third match. Nepal could not emulate their 17-0 rout of Pakistan in the U18 SAFF Championship. They had to settle for 9-0 win.

Missing the main striker Rekha Poudel for the double yellow card may be the cause of low score, reasoned Coach Shrestha. If that is the case, her absence has pointed out the team’s weakness in the striker’s bench.

Striker Rashmi Kumari Ghising, who did better in Bhutan, could not do well in Thailand. Alisha Zimba, who got the opportunity to play in place of Rekha, did just ok with her game against Pakistan. Zimba scored one goal after midfielders Manjali and Samjhana Lawati found the net.

After scoring only three goals in the first half, Coach switched the role of players by bringing defender duo Rekha Poudel and Nisha Thokar in front and Defender Puja in attacking midfield. The change paid the dividend as Nisha netted a hat trick and Puja scored a brace. Skipper Saru also joined goal party.

Nepal created many goal-scoring opportunities but could not materialise all in the absence of a genuine striker. So it is the right time for the coach to focus on making the striker’s bench strong.

Moreover, the brilliant skills displayed in the tournament from senior team members Captain Saru Limbu, midfielder Manjali Kumari Yonjan and Goal Keeper Anjana Rana Magar played the inspirational role.

Besides, there are also other players who showed their ability to contribute to the national team from their performance. Defender Puja Rana is one of them. She has also drawn the attention of Nepali football fans with her game against Thailand. The U14 captain not only impressed her coaches, team management and Nepali fans but also to the coach of India. According to the report, She was proposed to play in Indian club. Striker Rekha, defender Nisha are also the strong contenders for the national squad with their goal-scoring instinct.

So it is necessary to give adequate focus on age group football development in order to produce excellent result in

senior women team. It is laudable to hear the football administrators are building football academies in Rautahat and Dang to elevate the level of women’s football.