KATHMANDU: Nepal will face Laos over two legs in the Preliminary Round 1 of FIFA World Cup 2026.
The first leg of the match will be played in Nepal on October 12 and second leg in Laos on 17 October as per the home and away format.
If Nepal qualifies for the second round, Nepal will face UAE, Bahrain and winner of Yemen and Sri Lanka in Group H of the second round. The second round matches will be played in home-and-away format in between November 2023 and June 2024.
Nepal had faced Laos in the Prime Minister Three Nations Cup 2023 when they defeated Laos 2-1 to lift the title. Nepal had also defeated Laos 2-0 in the opening match of the tournament.
Nepal’s head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese has already announced his 30-member preliminary squad for the qualifiers.
Nepal squad:
Goalkeepers: Kiran Kumar Limbu (RG Punjab FC), Anish Deula (Jawalakhel Youth Club), Deep Karki (Manang Marsyangdi Club), Abhishek Baral (Satdobato Youth Club)
Defenders: Bimal Panday (Tribhuvan Army FC), Sanish Shrestha (APF Football Club), Ananta Tamang (Church Boys United), Devendra Tamang (Machhindra Football Club), Ashish Gurung (Manang Marsyangdi Club), Rohit Chand (Persic Kedri), Simanta Thapa (Jawalakhel Youth Club), Anjal Maharjan (Friends Club), Chhiring Lama (Jawalakhel Youth Club), Anjan Rai (Nepal Police Club)
Midfielders: Arik Bista (Church Boys United), Sudip Gurung (Satdobato Youth Club), Laken Limbu (Three Star Club), Awas Lamichhane (APF Football Club), Utsav Rai (Machhindra Football Club), Bishal Tamang (Jawalakhel Youth Club), Bibek Poudel (Church Boys United), Kritish Ratna Chhunju (NRT)
Forwards: Ayush Ghalan (Sankata Club), Nawayug Shrestha (Tribhuvan Army FC), Anjan Bista (Church Boys United), Manish Dangi (Sankata Club), Aashish Chaudhary (Church Boys United), Bimal Gharti Magar (Machhindra Football Club), Gillespye Jung Karki (Tribhuvan Army FC), Dinesh Henjan (Tribhuvan Army FC)
