By Sushil Thapa. Fairfax,VA

The men’s national football team of Nepal’s losing streak in international tournaments continues
unabated.

They had to endure yet another defeat in the third round of the Asian Football Confederation
Asian Cup Qualifiers Group F match against hosts Malaysia on Tuesday.

Malaysia completely dominated the proceedings to secure a comfortable 2-0 over a mediocre
Team Nepal.

The winners had little trouble containing the opposition that underperformed and failed to put up
a fight.

Going by the match statistics the Malaysians overwhelmingly had the upper hand throughout
the ninety minutes of play.

They had 75 % ball possession compared to Nepal’s 25 %.Similarly,they made 11 attempts on
the goal,while Nepal failed to make a single attempt .

Evidently the statistics speaks for itself when it comes to Nepal’s disappointing performance.
The Malaysians had total control of midfield and were on the attack offensively for the most
part of the game.However, their efforts to score maximum goals went in vain as they lacked
clinical finishing.

On the other hand,Nepal turned in a subdued and ragged performance.They completely failed
to make an impact on the match.

It was a tale of struggle for them from beginning to end as they struggled to find rhythm,
tempo,pace,cohesion and momentum.

Poor offensive play and midfield mediocrity put the team on shaky ground and had the
defense under enormous pressure.

Nepal came into the qualifiers on the back of morale boosting victories against Afghanistan and
Singapore in friendly matches.

Players confidence level was all time high, and everyone expected a fighting performance from
the team.

The newly appointed Australian Head Coach Matt Ross was cautiously optimistic about his
team’s chances against Malaysia.

He said players were in a positive frame of mind, possessed technical abilities and raring to
go,but it did not materialize much to everyone’s chagrin.

Team Nepal travels to Laos for the next match in June.This is a tie Ross boys cannot afford to
concede in order to bounce back. It is a chance for them to redeem themselves
Keeping in mind the head to head history between the two sides,Nepal has a clear edge over
Laos.

Having won 3 and drawn 3,the Nepali outfit ranked 175th is undefeated against 186th ranked
Laos.

That being said, underestimating the opponent and taking victory for granted would be a big
mistake for Ross boys.

As a matter of fact,they face quite a challenge in overcoming the opponent’s home -field
advantage.Their success is possible only if they put on a vastly improved performance and play
at their absolute best.

There is no room for complacency, unforced errors and sloppy play on all fronts.More
importantly,it is a big opportunity for them to end the losing streak and open their account in the
competition.They must not squander the chance to get back on track.

Both Nepal and Laos are winless, however,the former is third in the table standings on better
goal difference.

Following Laos’ clash Nepal takes on formidable Vietnam who are atop the standings.