Kathmandu, October 10.
Nepal suffered a 3–1 defeat against Vietnam in the third match of the third round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Despite a spirited first-half performance, Nepal couldn’t maintain their momentum after being reduced to ten men in the second half.
Head coach Mat Russ had set his sights on securing at least a point from the match. Nepal began confidently, holding Vietnam to a balanced contest in the first half. However, the match turned in Vietnam’s favor after the break.
Vietnam opened the scoring early, with Tien Ly finding the net in the 9th minute. Nepal quickly responded as Sanish Shrestha equalized in the 17th minute, giving Nepal hope of a positive result.
Just before halftime, Nepal’s Laken Limbu was shown a straight red card for a foul near the penalty area, leaving the team to play the entire second half with ten players. The numerical disadvantage proved costly.
Vietnam capitalized on the situation with two second-half goals. Xuan Man restored Vietnam’s lead in the 67th minute, and Van Vi sealed the victory with another goal in the 72nd minute.
Statistically, Vietnam dominated possession with 75% control and fired 24 shots, 10 of which were on target. Nepal, in contrast, managed only two shots throughout the game.
With this victory, Vietnam climbed to second place in Group F with six points from three matches. Nepal remain bottom of the group, still searching for their first point of the campaign.
In the other group fixture, Malaysia continued their perfect run, defeating Laos 3–0 to register their third consecutive win. Malaysia lead the group with nine points, while Laos sit third with three.
Nepal will face Vietnam again on October 14, in what will technically be their “home” match, also set to be played in Vietnam.
