Myanmar and Nepal into the finals

Kathmandu, Feb. 21: Myanmar and Nepal registered their second win in the International Women’s Championship defeating Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon at Dasharath Rangasala on Thursday. 

Myanmar defeated Kyrgyzstan by 5-0 while Nepal and Lebanon had only one goal working as the decider. 

Lebanon seemed hungrier than Nepal for a win at Dasharath Rangasala on Thursday night. They wanted revenge for the 1-2 loss at the semi-final of the 8th WAFF Women’s Championship in Saudi Arabia in February 2024. However, the visitors were denied a spot in the final of the International Women’s Championship losing to Nepal again.

Lebanon had fielded its best Playing XI against Nepal. Head coach Wael Gharzeddine made four changes to the squad compared to the one that faced Myanmar in the tournament opener on February 17.

Syntia Salha, who was fielded as a substitute against Myanmar, was in the Playing XI against Nepal. Similarly, three players who were not in the overall squad against Myanmar – Tiana Jaber, Pilar Khoury and Christy Maalouf – played against Nepal. The four players they replaced were Julie Atallah, Anabelle Rose Gabach, Lea El Hage Ali and Zahwa Arabi.

Synthia was working as a backbone in the midfield while she was also seen running as the right winger with the first-half ending; she was subbed out for Zahwa at the start of the second half. Similarly, Christy, who plays club games in France, connected well with Layla Iskandar as the No. 10 and 9 pressured Nepali defence whenever they had the ball. But the combination was missed after the 62nd minute as Layla was subbed off for Anabelle. 

“Layla had a low blood pressure so she was subbed off,” said Wael, adding.

Head coach Rajendra Tamang also made two changes to his squad as he started the game against Lebanon with goal-machine Sabitra Bhandari aka Samba and fresher Samiskhya Ghimire; they were replacing Rashmi Kr. Ghising and Nisha Thokar. 

Nevertheless, despite tactical moves with players and positions, Wael’s side could not register a win in the rematch against Nepal. 

Goals and chances

The number of goals would have soared if the players from both teams had capitalised on the several chances they created. Nepal’s goalie Anjila Tumbapo Subba made a great save in the ninth minute giving Lebanon the first corner of the game. In the same minute, Bimala Chaudhary missed a chance for Nepal. 

Similarly, Layla missed a chance in the 13th minute and Preeti Rai’s long ranger was a little away from the frame two minutes later; Nepal also missed two chances in the 26th minute to lead first. 

Amid players creating and missing chances for both sides, it was Nepal’s all-time top scorer Samba who gave the lead in the 42nd minute with a banger from outside the box; the ball crossed the goalline after getting deflected off Farah El Tayar. Samba had the chance to extend the lead in the 2+ added time of the first half, but goalie Marcell Skaiki saved the 1v1 for Lebanon and prevented the lead from doubling. 

“We lacked in finishing. There are some challenges when players do not train together. However, we will be mitigating the challenge and play better against Myanmar,” said Bhandari in the post-match conference. Bhandari was the Player of the Match in the win. 

Ending the first half on a positive note with a 1-0 lead, Nepal began attacking more in the second half. But the misses continued. Sabita Rana Magar missing in the 59th minute was one of the many.

The players were prioritising long crosses in the second half after stealing the ball from the Lebanese attack. None of those were converted as well.

While Nepal was failing to extend the lead, Lebanon only needed an equaliser to stay alive in the tournament as a draw would have taken them to the finals. The shot by Zahwa in the 90+5 added minute was going towards the net and the stadium went silent, but the crowd rejuvenated when it rebounded off the crossbar. 

“It was a tough game playing in front of thousands of away fans. We knew it was going to be tough. We have several areas to improve. But I was happy with my team’s effort,” said Wael in the post-match conference.

On the other hand, Yoon Wadi and May Htet scored two goals each while Sandar Lin hit the other for Myanmar. Wadi also had two assists in the game and was the Player of the Match. Nepal and Myanmar will face each other on February 23 with the winner securing the top spot in the points table. Currently, both teams have six points each but Myanmar leads in goal difference.

“We will prepare well for the next game as we have two rest days,” said coach Tamang.