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This particular encounter is a first in the rebooted history in the Nehru Cup as both these nations are first time entrants for the tournament.
They have however, met each other before, most recently in a 0-1 loss for the Gorkhalis in the AFC Challenge Cup on home turf back in March.
But with new coach Krishna Thapa, the most tangible emotion is of uncertainty combined with hope as they take part in heir first tournament post-Graham Roberts. While he has held the post of caretaker manager before in January 2011, he has only been with his current crop for less than three weeks.
He is expected not to make too many changes to a decent line-up, sticking to a safe 4-4-2 although he will hope for a better performance than the disappointing goalless crashing out of the aforementioned Chellenge Cup.
With Kiran Chemzong back between the sticks, hopefully Nepal will be a bit less porous in defence. Meanwhile, the back four will likely remain unchenged from the Challenge Cup with Sandip Rai, Sagar Thapa, Rohit Chand and Sabindra Shrestha forming their wall.
A large section of the midfield should remain unchanged too, hopefully continuing the exciting brand of football we know them so well for. Raju Tamang, Nirajan Khadka, Bhola Silwal are all familiar faces while Jagjeet Shrestha should fill in the last blank. The forward line-up should see the continuation of the Jumanu Rai and Anil Gurung partnership.
Is a sytem is working well, there's no need to overhaul it and that should be Krishna Thapa's main objective, to retain the free-flowing system that is Graham Robets' inheritance. Hopefully the short term setback of the AFC Challenge Cup should not see them revert to the South Asian tendency of hoofball.
Old familiar foes...
The Maldives come with a familiar threat, their stubborn defence combined with a real burst of pace on the counter should see much effectiveness in the tournament in general, with most sides quite wobbly on the defensive front.The 4-4-2 is their staple and they are pretty well placed on the wings. It remains to be seen how far their U-22 lads get a run out in the tournament.
But their real strength lies in their forwards with Ali Ashfaq, possibly the most exciting talent in the region leading their charge with the armband as well as the position.
Their defense is mostly solid, with a mix of youth and experience that will see the likes of 21 year old Rilwan Waheed rub shourlders with 29 year old Mohamed Shifan.
Perhaps the central midfield's link-up play will be a bit of a concern for them, but they usually are in good nick against Nepal, as history would show it.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Nepal have been winless in their last five games against the Maldives, losing three and drawing two.
- Both managers have had two stints in the same position for their respective countries. While Krishna Thapa has been the caretaker of Nepal twice, Urbanyi has been full manager of the Maldives the same number of times.
- Maldives have all their players plying their trade for clubs in the country itself while Nepal have three currently unattached players in their side.
- The teams have met thirteen times with Nepal winning only thrice and the Maldives coming out on top six times.
Field Report
| AFC Challenge Cup 2012 (ACC) | 10-Mar-2012 | Maldives 1 - Nepal 0 | |
| SAFF Championship (SAFF) | 02-Dec-2011 | Maldives 1 - Nepal 1 | |
| SAFF Championship (SAFF) | 05-Dec-2009 | Maldives 1 - Nepal 1 |
 Maldives   | ||
| 12-Mar-2012 | Maldives 0 - Palestine 2 | ACC |
| 10-Mar-2012 | Maldives 1 - Nepal 0 | ACC |
| 08-Mar-2012 | Turkmenistan 3 - Maldives 1 | ACC |
| 09-Dec-2011 | Maldives 1 - India 3 | SAFF |
| 06-Dec-2011 | Maldives 3 - Bangladesh 1 | SAFF |
 Nepal   | ||
| 12-Mar-2012 | Nepal 0 - Turkmenistan 3 | ACC |
| 10-Mar-2012 | Maldives 1 - Nepal 0 | ACC |
| 08-Mar-2012 | Nepal 0 - Palestine 2 | ACC |
| 09-Dec-2011 | Afghanistan 1 - Nepal 0 | SAFF |
| 06-Dec-2011 | Pakistan 1 - Nepal 1 | SAFF |
- Nehru Cup Match 2 Preview: Maldives vs Nepal - Another chapter in this rivalry set to go
- Nepal coach Krishna Thapa: We will try our best to reach the final
- Maldives coach Istvan Urbanyi believes his team will give in their best despite lack of preparation
- Fan View: Can India win the Nehru Cup for a third time in a row?
