Nepal held draw with Laos (photos)
Nepal played a 1-1 draw with Laos in the first leg match at Dasharath Stadium on Thursday.
KATHMANDU: Nepal drew Laos in the first round of Asian World Cup qualifiers.
Nepal played a 1-1 draw with Laos in the first leg match at Dasharath Stadium on Thursday.
Nepal, who started the game with the goal of qualifying for the World Cup’s second round, blew the opportunity to take the lead in the first leg. Anjan Bista equaled the international football record of 13 goals on Thursday.
He tied Hari Khadka and Nirajan Rayamajhi’s Nepal record of 13 goals in international football.
Laos, the visiting squad, took an early lead in the game in the 33rd minute. Laos captain Bonfachan Boukong beat the Nepali defense and scored the game’s first goal.
Nepal was trailing 1-0 in the first half.
Anjan Bista’s goal in the second half put Nepal back in the game. Anjan scored the equalizer in the 47th minute of the game by using a corner ball.
They took the field with the intention of defeating Laos, who is ranked lower in the FIFA rankings. However, Laos had a difficult test against their home team, Nepal.
Despite a better second half performance, Nepal was unable to defeat Laos. The most recent draw made it difficult for Nepal to qualify for the prior round.
Nepal will now play the second leg at the home ground of Laos on Oct 17.
