Nepal national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Nepal women's national football team.

Nepal

Nickname	The Gorkhalis
Association	All Nepal Football Association (ANFA)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Vacant
Captain	Kiran Chemjong
Most caps	Kiran Chemjong (111)
Top scorer	Ganesh Thapa (14)
Home stadium	Dasharath Stadium
FIFA code	NEP
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	178 1 (7 October 2026)
Highest	124 (December 1993 – February 1994)
Lowest	196 (January 2016)
First international
China 6–2 Nepal (Beijing, China; 13 October 1972)
Biggest win
Nepal 7–0 Bhutan (Kathmandu, Nepal; 26 September 1999)
Biggest defeat
South Korea 16–0 Nepal (Incheon, South Korea; 29 September 2003)
SAFF Championship
Appearances	13 (first in 1993)
Best result	Runners-up (2021)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2016)
Best result	Champions (2016)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2006)
Best result	Semi-finals (2006)
Website	the-anfa.com

The Nepal national football team (Nepali: नेपाल राष्ट्रिय फुटबल टिम) represents Nepal in International men's football, and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Nepali football team plays their home games at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

History

Emergence (1960s–2026)

In 1951, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) was founded, and this saw the formation of the Nepal national football team.

In 1963, Nepal appeared in their first international away game in the Aga Khan Gold Cup; the predecessor of the President's Gold Cup, Asia Champion Club Tournament, and Asian Club Championship (now rebranded as the AFC Champions League) after various associations (including ANFA) insisted on entering national teams instead of clubs. After Nepal entered an 18-man squad under head coach Padam Krishna Shrestha, ANFA flew the players to Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to play their first match. Nepal faced Pakistan Western Railway in the Bangabandhu National Stadium. However, Nepal lost the match 0–8. Two days later, Nepal played the Dhaka Wanderers, a local East Pakistani team. This match was also lost 0–7. After two disastrous games, Nepal was sure to be knocked out of the preliminary round. The final game was against Dhaka Police Club, though, despite the previous heavy losses, Nepal managed to win the game with a single goal, Prakash Bikram Shah becoming the first Nepali to score on foreign soil. The goal was scored in the 51st minute.

Modernization & golden generation (1970–1999)

In 1970, Nepal became a member of FIFA. Two years later, Nepal joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In October 1972, under head coach Padam Krishna Shrestha, Nepal embarked on a month-long tour of China, playing the Chinese national team as well as several provincial and regional selections. Nepal played its first recognised international match on 13 October at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing, losing 6–2 to the People's Republic of China. The tour continued with defeats against Tianjin (5–2), Hebei (5–2), Sichuan (3–1), Hubei (6–2) and Hunan (4–2), before Nepal recorded consecutive victories in Guangzhou, defeating Guangdong Youth 3–2 on 4 November and Tibet 4–0 on 6 November. Nepal therefore completed the eight-match tour with two wins and six defeats.

The first Nepali footballer to score the first international goal for Nepal in a FIFA-recognized tournament was Y.B Ghale. Ghale scored against Kuwait in the 1982 Asian Games. Despite the popularity of the game, the lack of appropriate footballing infrastructure and the dearth of trainers, technicians, and other facilities have always been obstacles in the way of the Nepali FA's endeavors to raise the standard of football among the players of a nation that has an official per capita income of just 1,196 US dollars. The woes of Nepali football, however, have been immensely relieved by FIFA's determination to promote football in Nepal through youth programs.

1984 South Asian Games gold medal winning Nepal national team

In the mid-1980s, FIFA provided financial assistance and sent a number of coaches to help Nepal's federation to launch its first youth program, which was geared towards spotting talent at the grassroots level (such as in schools, for example) and providing young players with the necessary know-how, both on and off the pitch. The initial five-year plan helped half the players groomed under the first youth program to find a place in the national side, and the team that won the 2 gold medals in the first and sixth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games mostly consisted of the players from that youth program. Despite Nepal being considered among the lower-ranked nations, Nepal has been largely successful in the South Asian Games where they won two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.

Nepal hosted several notable friendlies from teams outside the Asian Confederation during the mid to late 80s, against Denmark in 1986; USSR and East Germany in 1987; and West Germany in 1989. While at the same time, Nepal still entered tournaments against club sides such as FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast in the 1989 ANFA Cup.

Nepal continued on with their winning ways through several minor tournaments which saw the nation showered with titles including the 1997 and 1998 Governor's Gold Cup, winning gold at the 1993 South Asian Games, and reaching 3rd place in the 1993 South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup (the first edition of the SAFF Championship).

Decline (2000–2009)

The Nepali football came across a forgettable two years from 2001 to 2003 when the row between two factions (government-backed and FIFA-backed) led Nepali football into deep trouble. Nepal faced a ban and therefore could not participate in any events and the rankings slipped heavily. The dispute was settled, but not before it contributed to pushing Nepali football backward. Nepal celebrated their 100th international football match in January 2003 when they played Bangladesh in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. Nepal failed to make any real impact at the tournament. During its 22 years of international participation, the Nepali team has only played 26 nations outside of South Asia, but it has defeated all of the country's South Asian neighbors during various regional tournaments. Nepal also faced non-AFC teams in competitive tournaments such as Ghana U23 in the 1999 Bangabandhu Cup, and Kazakhstan in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign (although Kazakhstan was a member of the AFC during this match).

In 2002, Nepal also faced a 7 match football series against Afghanistan and Afghanistan defeated Nepal 7-0 in that series.

Despite many attempts to raise the standard of football, the players of the resource-strapped nation have not been able to make their mark in international football beyond South Asia. In 2003 during the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, Nepal's A national team suffered a number of heavy defeats in international matches outside of South Asia. In a match during the Asian Cup qualifying round in South Korea, the hosts scored 16 goals to no reply. In their six matches, Nepal conceded 45 goals and failed to hit the back of the net even once. However, the qualifying competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup witnessed one of Nepal's best performances in international football, with the Gorkhalis securing two wins in four matches and scoring 13 goals in two matches against Macao and Iraq. But with the Nepali national and youth teams failing to achieve any noticeable success at the international level and FIFA introducing new age restriction systems in several international tournaments, Nepal recently decided to compete only in the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers as well as the SAFF Championship until 2006.

Resurgence (2010–present)

Nepal playing XI against India at the 2021 SAFF Championship final

After the marquee appointments of Graham Roberts, Nepal had experienced a fair amount of success following the decade of decline. Nepal won Saff U-19 championship in 2015 and 3 major tournaments in 2016, the Bangabandhu Cup and the AFC Solidarity Cup and won a gold medal in 2016 South Asian Games. Nepal lost no match in 2016.

Nepal managed a good performance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, even though the team was chosen as a replacement for the Guam national football team as Guam chose not to participate. Nepal had two successful draws against much stronger Philippines and Yemen at home, both ended 0–0. However, as the team lost to Tajikistan twice and away loss to the Philippines and Yemen, the Nepalis failed to qualify to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Nepal participated in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification where they have to face Australia, Kuwait, Jordan and Chinese Taipei. The Nepalis only managed one single win over Chinese Taipei away 2–0 and lost to the other opponents without scoring a goal after five matches.

Nepal participated in the 2021 SAFF Championship and managed to reach the tournament final where they were defeated 0–3 by India.

In October 2023, Nepal participated in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Laos. The first leg contested in a goalless draw between both team where else on 17 October 2023, Manish Dangi scored the only goal in the match to secure the victory for Nepal seeing them advanced to the second round.

In March 2024, Nepal lost to Bahrain 0–3 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match which eliminated the team from advancing to the next round.

Team image

Home stadium

Main article: Dasarath Rangasala Stadium

Dasarath Rangasala Stadium

The team's home ground is various around the nation one of the ground being Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. Holding 15,000 spectators all of which are beautifully seated. It is the biggest stadium in Nepal. It is named after Dashrath Chand, one of the martyrs of Nepal.

Most recently, the stadium was used as a primary venue for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup and the 2013 SAFF Championship, with the Halchowk Stadium hosting some of the matches as well.

Apart from sporting events, the stadium is also used as a music venue for cultural events with Bryan Adams being the most notable act that performed at the site.

Before the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal, the stadium underwent a heavy renovation that saw several improvements such as the expansion of seats from 20,000 to 28,000.

The country also has some recently added stadiums that include Pokhara football stadium located at Pokhara Rangasala which constructed in 2021.

Kit evolution

The national team's kit employs a tricolor of red, blue, and white to reflect the colors of the national flag of Nepal. With red being used for home matches, and blue for away. The pattern in some kits reflects the triangular shaping of the flag, namely the 2013 kit. Nepal's kits are mostly template kits, as opposed to a custom team-specific kit. This is because the Nepal national team isn't lucrative enough to afford kit partnership deals with manufacturers.

Very little is known about the history prior to 1998. However, during the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, the Nepali national team hired Bijay Shah to provide technical assistance to the squad, while also acting as the assistant coach. At the time, the team didn't have printed sportswear for the tournament. After printing makeshift kits, Bijay was inspired to start a T-shirt printing company, where through the partnership with a US printing company, and colleagues in South Korea, they produced their first batch of kits for the national team prior to the 1999 South Asian Games.

On 4 March 2019, ANFA has revealed two new jerseys for members of the national football team along with new national football anthem. The new jerseys have ANFA logo on the left where used to be national flag in the old jerseys. There is also national flag and picture of Mount Everest above the ANFA logo. This new sign is designed by Sandeep Tiwari. ANFA also made provision of white jerseys for friendly matches.

In 2021, ANFA ended the contract with Kelme, the previous kit sponsor, and signed with KTM CTY.

Kit suppliers

Kit provider	Period
Grand Sport	1987–1993
Admiral	1993–1997
FBT	1997–1998
Topper	1998–2000
Adidas	2000–2001
In-House	2001–2004
Mesuca	2004–2005
Adidas	2005–2018
Kelme	2018–2021
KTM CTY	2021–2024
Kelme	2024–present

Nepal Red & Blue

See also: Nepal national football B team

During the ANFA Cup, the All Nepal Football Association occasionally entered two teams for Nepal; Nepal Red & Nepal Blue. This is very much akin to other South Asian teams such as Pakistan B and Bangladesh B. Nepal Red was a selection of Nepali players that played as the full Nepal national football team. Whereas, Nepal Blue was effectively the B-team.

Most of the Nepali top players play in the Nepal Red team, and it is also described as "the Nepal senior team", and is captained by the regular national team captain. While Nepal Blue is described as the "second string team".

Results and fixtures

Main article: Nepal national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.   Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2025

Nepal v Vietnam

14 October 2027 ACQ R3	Nepal	0–1	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
20:00 UTC+7		Report (AFC)	Suman 5' (o.g.)	Stadium: Thống Nhất Stadium Attendance: 6,870 Referee: Mohamed Khaled (Bahrain)

Bangladesh v Nepal

13 November Friendly	Bangladesh	2–2	Nepal	Dhaka, Bangladesh
20:00 UTC+6	Hamza 46', 50' (pen.)	Report	R. Chand 29' A. Tamang 90+3'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Kasun Lakmal Weerakkody (Sri Lanka)

Nepal v Malaysia

18 November 2027 ACQ R3	Nepal	0–1	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21:00 UTC+8		Report (AFC)	Faisal 56'	Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance: 14,243 Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)

2026

Nepal v Laos

31 March 2027 ACQ R3	Nepal	0–1	Laos	Vientiane, Laos
19:00 UTC+7		Report Report (AFC)	Bounphachan 48'	Stadium: New Laos National Stadium Attendance: 2,327 Referee: Ahmad A'Qashah (Singapore)

Coaching staff

As of 20 March 2025

Position	Name
Team manager	Nakul Hamal Thakuri
	Ramesh Kumar Karki
Head coach	Vacant
Assistant coach	Salyan Khadgi
Technical Analyst	Vacant
Goalkeeping coach	Binod Maharjan
Physiotherapist	Avishkar Pudasaini
Team Doctor	Raju Dangol Maharjan
Team Official	Bijay Kumar Gupta
Media Manager	Krishna Singh Lothyal

Coaching History

List of Head Coaches
Name	Period	P	W	D	L	Win %	Achievements	Comment	Ref.
Padam Krishna Shrestha	1972
Zeng Shi Chui	1981–82	—	−	−	−	—	1982 Asian Games
Wang Lu	1983	—	−	−	−	—
Jochen Figge	1984–85	—	−	−	−	—	1984 South Asian Games: Gold medalist
Rudi Gutendorf	1986	—	−	−	−	—
Joe Kinnear	1987	—	−	−	−	—	1987 South Asian Games: Silver medalist
Reinhard Fabisch	1989	—	−	−	−	—
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1989–91	—	−	−	−	—
Maheshwor Mulmi Holger Obermann	1991–93	—	−	−	−	—	1991 South Asian Games 1993 SAARC Gold Cup: Third place	Although both Obermann and Mulmi were heavily involved in the national team during these years, Obermann was hired by the All Nepal Football Association as a 'Technical Director'
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1993–94	—	−	−	−	—	1993 South Asian Games: Gold medalist 1994 Asian Games
Maheshwor Mulmi	1995	—	−	−	−	—	1995 Bristol SAFF Gold Cup
Yogambar Suwal	1995	—	−	−	−	—	1995 South Asian Games
Bhim Thapa	1996	—	−	−	−	—	1996 AFC Asian Cup: Failed to qualify
Yogambar Suwal	1997	—	−	−	−	—	1998 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Dhan Bahadur Basnet	1997	—	−	−	−	—	1997 SAFF Gold Cup
Yoo Kee-heung	1998	—	−	−	−	—	1998 Asian Games
Torsten Spittler	1999	—	−	−	−	—	1999 SAFF Gold Cup: Fourth place
Stephen Constantine	1999–01	—	−	−	−	—	1999 South Asian Games: Silver medalist 2000 ANFA Coca Cola Invitational Tournament: Finalist
Maheshwor Mulmi	2001	—	−	−	−	—	2002 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Yoo Kee-heung	2003	—	−	−	−	—	2003 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Toshihiko Shiozawa	2005–06	—	−	−	−	—	2005 SAFF Gold Cup: Group stage
Shyam Thapa	2006–07	—	−	−	−	—	2006 AFC Challenge Cup: Semi-final 2010 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Thomas Flath	2008	—	−	−	−	—	2008 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Birat Krishna Shrestha	2008	—	−	−	−	—	2008 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage
Krishna Thapa	2008–09	—	−	−	−	—	2008 Merdeka Tournament: Group stage
Yogamber Suwal	2009	—	−	−	−	—	2009 Prime Minister's Invitational Tournament: Champions 2010 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Krishna Thapa	2009–11	—	−	−	−	—	2009 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Graham Roberts	2011–12	—	−	−	−	—	2011 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2014 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify 2012 AFC Challenge Cup: Group stage	Reached Round 2 in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time
Krishna Thapa	2012	—	−	−	−	—	2012 Nehru Cup
Jack Stefanowski	2013	—	−	−	−	—	2013 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2014 AFC Challenge Cup: Failed to qualify
Raju Kaji Shakya	2014	—	−	−	−	—
Jack Stefanowski	2014–15	—	−	−	−	—	2018 FIFA World Cup: Failed to qualify
Dhruba KC	2015	—	−	−	−	—
Patrick Aussems	2015–16	3	0	0	3	000	2015 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2016	5	3	2	0	060	2016 Bangabandhu Cup: Champions	Earned Nepal's first major title in 23 years
Koji Gyotoku	2016–18	13	4	5	4	031	2016 AFC Solidarity Cup: Champions	Earned Nepal's first AFC title
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2018	6	2	0	4	033	2018 SAFF Championship: Semi-final 2018 Bangabandhu Cup: Group stage	Interim Coach
Johan Kalin	2019–20	6	1	2	3	017
Bal Gopal Maharjan	2020–21	5	1	3	1	020
Abdullah Al Mutairi	2021–22	18	5	2	11	028	2021 SAFF Championship runner up
Pradip Humagain	2022	1	1	0	0	100
	2022	1	1	0	0	100
Vincenzo Alberto Annese	2023–24	10	3	3	4	33	2023 SAFF Championship: Group stage
Matt Ross	2025	3	1	1	1	33.33
Hari Khadka	2025–2026	0	0	1	3	0
Guglielmo Arena	2026–	0	0	0	0	0

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up to the final squad for matches against Laos.

Caps and goals are correct as of 25 March 2025 after the game against Malaysia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Bishal Sunar	(2002-02-09) 9 February 2002	1	0	Friends
16	1GK	Kiran Chemjong (captain)	(1990-03-20) 20 March 1990	107	0	Bangladesh Police
22	1GK	Deep Karki	(1998-01-09) 9 January 1998	5	0	Sankata
2	2DF	Sanish Shrestha	(2000-11-09) 9 November 2000	22	0	Brothers Union
3	2DF	Suman Shrestha	(1999-09-05) 5 September 1999	3	0	ODI Sports
4	2DF	Ananta Tamang	(1998-01-17) 17 January 1998	67	4	Fortis FC
5	2DF	Bimal Panday	(1990-01-21) 21 January 1990	7	0	Nepal Army
12	2DF	Sumit Shrestha	(2004-01-30) 30 January 2004	5	0	New Road Team
13	2DF	Abhishek Limbu	(1999-08-21) 21 August 1999	3	0	Rahmatganj MFS
23	2DF	Rohit Chand	(1992-03-01) 1 March 1992	97	1	Persik Kediri
6	3MF	Samyog Gurung	(2007-01-27) 27 January 2007	1	1	Brothers Union
8	3MF	Arik Bista	(2000-03-17) 17 March 2000	29	0	Brothers Union
9	3MF	Rohan Karki	(2002-09-21) 21 September 2002	4	0	Church Boys United
10	3MF	Laken Limbu	(2002-07-24) 24 July 2002	16	0	Kirivong Sok Sen Chey
15	3MF	Kritish Ratna Chhunju	(2003-04-11) 11 April 2003	0	0	New Road Team
17	3MF	Kushal Deuba	(2006-11-10) 10 November 2006	0	0	Lalitpur City
19	3MF	Ayush Ghalan	(2004-02-21) 21 February 2004	31	2	Bangladesh Police
20	3MF	Mani Kumar Lama	(1996-03-24) 24 March 1996	9	0	APF FC
21	3MF	Manish Dangi	(2001-09-17) 17 September 2001	38	4	Machhindra
7	4FW	Gillespye Jung Karki	(1998-11-19) 19 November 1998	15	3	PDRM
11	4FW	Subash Bam Thakuri	(2008-09-05) 5 September 2008	1	0	Siniloan Lions
14	4FW	Anjan Bista	(1998-05-15) 15 May 1998	70	13	Brothers Union
27	4FW	Srijan Raj Gautam	(2002-07-17) 17 July 2002	1	0	Chitwan

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to a Nepal squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up PRE
Notes INJ = Withdrew due to injury. PRE = Preliminary squad / standby. RET = Retired from the national team. SUS = Serving suspension. WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

See also: Category:Nepal men's international footballers

As of 18 November 2025

Players in bold are still active with Nepal.

Most appearances

Kiran Chemjong is Nepal's highest capped player with 107 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Kiran Chemjong	113	0	2008–present
2	Rohit Chand	103	2	2009–present
3	Raju Kaji Shakya	91	0	1982–1997
4	Biraj Maharjan	78	1	2008–2021
5	Anjan Bista	75	13	2014–present
6	Ananta Tamang	73	5	2015–present
7	Sagar Thapa	66	1	2003–2015
8	Bharat Khawas	64	10	2008–present
9	Sandip Rai	55	4	2008–2015
10	Anil Gurung	54	10	2007–2017
	Ju Manu Rai	54	11	2006–2015
	Nawayug Shrestha	54	10	2015–2023

Top goalscorers

Ganesh Thapa is Nepal's highest goalscorer with 14 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Ganesh Thapa	14	40	0.35	1981–1989
2	Nirajan Rayamajhi	13	22	0.59	2000–2008
	Hari Khadka	13	40	0.33	1995–2006
	Anjan Bista	13	75	0.17	2014–present
5	Ju Manu Rai	11	54	0.2	2006–2015
6	Anil Gurung	10	54	0.19	2007–2017
	Nawayug Shrestha	10	54	0.19	2015–2023
	Bharat Khawas	10	64	0.16	2008–present
9	Bimal Gharti Magar	9	44	0.2	2012–2023
10	Basanta Thapa	8	35	0.23	1998–2006

Competitive record

Further information: Nepal national football team results

  Champion    Runners-up    Third place     Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1930 to 1970	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member
1974 to 1982	Did not enter										Did not enter
1986	Did not qualify									3rd	4	0	1	3	0	11	−11	1
1990										4th	6	0	0	6	0	28	−28	0
1994	Did not enter										Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									4th	6	0	1	5	2	19	−17	1
2002										3rd	6	2	0	4	13	25	−12	6
2006	Withdrew										Withdrew
2010	Did not qualify									Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0
2014										Round 2	4	2	1	1	8	11	−3	7
2018										Round 1	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2022										Round 2	8	2	0	6	4	22	−18	6
2026										Round 2	8	1	2	5	4	21	–17	5
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
Total	0/14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8/22	46	7	6	33	31	143	−112	27

Olympic Games

Year	Position	Q	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1896	No football tournament held
1900 – 1928	Not an IOC Member
1932	No football tournament held
1936 – 1960	Not an IOC Member
1964 – 1988	Did not enter
1992 – present	See Nepal under-23 football team 1 (Age bar restriction after 1996, U23s only)
Total	—	0/28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1956	Not an AFC member										Not an AFC member
1960
1964
1968
1972	Withdrew										Withdrew
1976
1980
1984	Did not qualify									5th (Group 2)	4	0	0	4	0	30	−30	0
1988										5th (Group 3)	4	0	1	3	0	7	−7	1
1992	Withdrew										Withdrew
1996	Did not qualify									4th (Group 5)	6	0	0	6	2	26	−24	0
2000										4th (Group 5)	4	1	0	3	3	13	−10	3
2004										4th (Group E)	8	1	0	7	4	45	-41	3
2007	Withdrew										Withdrew
2011	Did not qualify									Withdrew and berth unsecured
2015										2014 AFC Challenge Cup
2019										Round 1	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1
2023										Round 3	11	2	0	9	5	35	−30	6
2027
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	39	4	2	33	14	158	−144	14

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup record												Qualification record
Year	Position	Pts	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2006	Semi-finals	7	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	7		No qualification tournament
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	3	4	1	+3	3		1st (Group D)	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	6
2010	Did not qualify											2nd (Group C)	2	0	2	0	1	1	+0	2
2012	Round 1	0	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0	2nd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	1	1	+0	4
2014	Did not qualify										3rd (Group D)	3	1	1	1	6	2	+4	4
Total	3/5	10	7	1	3	7	8	10	−2	10	4/4	10	4	4	2	12	6	+6	16

AFC Solidarity Cup

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2016	Champions	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10
2020	Cancelled
Total	1/1	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	10

SAFF Championship

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1993	Third place	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
1995	Fourth place	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1997	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
1999	Fourth place	4	1	0	3	6	9	−3	3
2003	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2005	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
2008	Round 1	3	1	0	2	5	9	−4	3
2009	Round 1	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4
2011	Semi-finals	4	1	2	1	3	3	0	5
2013	Semi-finals	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7
2015	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
2018	Semi-finals	4	2	0	2	7	5	+2	6
2021	Runners-up	5	2	1	2	5	7	–2	7
2023	Group stage	3	1	0	2	2	5	–3	3
2026	Suspended by FIFA
Total	12/12	46	14	7	25	50	67	–17	49

Asian Games

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1951	Not an IOC Member
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew
1970
1974
1978
1982	Round 1	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0
1986	Round 1	4	0	0	4	0	17	−17	0
1990	Withdrew
1994	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	20	−20	0
1998	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0
Since 2002	See Nepal under-23 team
Total	4/13	12	0	0	12	1	52	−51	0

South Asian Games

Year	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1984	Gold	4	3	0	1	13	7	+6	6
1985	Bronze	3	2	0	1	3	4	–1	4
1987	Silver	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	4
1989	4th	3	0	2	1	1	2	–1	2
1991	4th	3	0	1	2	2	5	–3	1
1993	Gold	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	7
1995	4th	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
1999	Silver	5	3	0	2	12	7	+5	9
Since 2001	See Nepal under-23 team
Total	2 titles	27	12	4	11	43	32	+11	36

Other tournaments

In these tournaments, Nepal was sometimes fielded as 'ANFA XI', 'Nepal XI', or 'Nepal Sports Development Authority' despite being the de facto national football team endorsed by the ANFA.

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Team Name
1975 DCM Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 President's Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Agatha Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979 Aga Khan Gold Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	2	14	1
1981 President's Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Darjeeling Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982 Quaid-e-Azam Tournament	6th	6	1	2	3	3	9	−6	4
1982 King's Cup	Round 1	4	1	0	3	2	9	−7	2
1982 ANFA Coca Cola Tournament	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	5	5	0	4
1983 Merdeka Tournament	Round 1	5	0	0	5	0	14	–14	0
1983 President's Gold Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	0
1984 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1985 Quaid-e-Azam Tournament	Round 1	0	0	0	2	0	9	−9	1
1986 Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup	4th	5	1	1	3	2	6	−4	3
1986 Quaid-e-Azam Tournament	5th	3	1	1	3	4	17	−13	5
1986 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	4	2	1	1	unknown			3
1987 Quaid-e-Azam Tournament	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	0	5	−5	Nepal XI
1987 ANFA Cup	Champions	unknown
1989 Aga Khan Gold Cup	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1989 ANFA Cup	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	3	6	–2	4
1995 Airlines Gold Cup	Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997 Governor's Gold Cup	Champions	-	-	-	-	-	-	–	-
1998 Governor's Gold Cup	Champions	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	ANFA XI
1998 Durand Cup	Round 1	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3	Nepal XI
1999 Bangabandhu Cup	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0
2000 ANFA Coca Cola Tournament	Runners-up	2	2	1	1	4	2	+2	7	Nepal Red
2008 Merdeka Tournament	Round 1	3	0	1	2	3	9	−6	1
2009 ANFA Cup	Champions	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10	Nepal Red
2012 Nehru Cup	Round 1	4	0	1	3	1	9	−8	1
2016 Bangabandhu Cup	Champions	5	3	2	0	8	1	+7	11
2018 Bangabandhu Cup	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	0	3	-3	11
2021 Three Nations Cup	Champions	3	1	2	0	1	1	+1	11
2023 Three Nations Cup	Champions	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	7
Total	7 titles	75	25	15	41	60	135	-75	73

**Former rules, win = 2pts.

Head-to-head record

Main article: Nepal national football team results

Updated 31 March 2026 after match against Laos

Key

	More wins
	Equal wins/losses ratio
	More losses

Nepal national football team head-to-head records
Opponent	From	To	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Confederation
Afghanistan	2003	2024	7	4	1	2	12	4	+8	AFC
Australia	2019	2021	2	0	0	2	0	8	-8	AFC
Bahrain	2024	2024	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	AFC
Bangladesh	1982	2025	30	9	7	14	25	36	−11	AFC
Bhutan	1982	2023	15	13	2	0	45	7	+38	AFC
Brunei		2016	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2	AFC
Cambodia	2008	2008	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	AFC
China	1972	1986	4	0	0	4	2	31	−29	AFC
Chinese Taipei	2019	2021	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	AFC
Hong Kong	1988	2025	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	AFC
India	1985	2023	24	2	4	18	9	42	−33	AFC
Indonesia	2014	2022	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9	AFC
Iran	1982	1988	5	0	0	5	0	25	−25	AFC
Iraq	1982	2021	4	0	0	4	5	22	−17	AFC
Japan	1986	1998	5	0	0	5	0	28	−28	AFC
Jordan	2011	2022	5	0	1	4	1	18	-17	AFC
Kazakhstan	2001	2001	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10	UEFA
Kuwait	1982	2023	10	0	1	9	3	37	−34	AFC
Kyrgyzstan	2003	2009	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	AFC
Laos	2016	2026	8	4	2	2	10	9	+1	AFC
Malaysia	1985	2025	9	1	1	7	3	21	−18	AFC
Macau	1997	2016	6	4	1	1	16	7	+9	AFC
Maldives	1984	2021	17	5	4	8	20	23	−3	AFC
Mauritius	2022	2022	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2	CAF
Myanmar	2008	2023	5	0	1	4	0	10	−10	AFC
North Korea	1985	2011	4	0	0	4	1	11	−10	AFC
Northern Mariana Islands	2013	2013	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6	AFC
Oman	1982	2022	13	0	0	13	3	52	−49	AFC
Pakistan	1982	2023	22	9	5	8	23	25	−2	AFC
Palestine	2009	2018	4	0	2	2	0	3	−3	AFC
Philippines	1982	2017	7	1	1	5	2	15	−13	AFC
Saudi Arabia	1984	1984	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7	AFC
Sri Lanka	1984	2021	17	4	7	6	20	25	−5	AFC
Singapore	1982	2025	5	2	0	3	2	12	−10	AFC
South Korea	1983	2003	8	0	0	8	1	55	−54	AFC
Syria	1988	2012	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	AFC
Tajikistan	2017	2024	4	0	0	4	1	11	−10	AFC
Thailand	1982	2022	8	0	1	7	3	21	-18	AFC
Tibet	1972	1979	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6	CONIFA
Timor-Leste	2011	2022	4	2	2	0	9	3	+6	AFC
Turkmenistan	2002	2012	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	AFC
United Arab Emirates	1984	2024	3	0	0	3	0	19	−19	AFC
Vietnam	2003	2025	3	0	0	3	1	10	−9	AFC
Yemen	2000	2024	6	0	2	4	3	11	−8	AFC
44 Countries	1972	2026	282	71	47	167	246	648	−402	FIFA
Last match updated was against  Malaysia on 18 November 2025.

Regional record

Last meet up against South Asia countries
Opponents	Score	Year	Outcome	Match type
Afghanistan	16 November 2024	0−2	Won	Friendly
Bangladesh	27 September 2022	3−1	Won	Int'l Friendly
Bhutan	28 March 2023	1−1	Draw	2023 Three Nations Cup
India	24 June 2023	2−0	Lost	2023 SAFF Championship
Maldives	1 October 2021	0−1	Won	2021 SAFF Championship
Pakistan	8 December 2024	0−1	Won	2023 SAFF Championship
Sri Lanka	4 October 2021	2−3	Won	2021 SAFF Championship

Honours

Continental

• AFC Solidarity Cup
  • Champions (1): 2016

Regional

• South Asian Games
  • Gold medal (2): 1984, 1993
  • Silver medal (2): 1987, 1999
  • Bronze medal (1): 1985
• SAFF Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 2021
  • Third place (1): 1993

Friendly

• ANFA Cup (2): 1987, 2009
• Governor's Gold Cup (2): 1997, 1998
• Bangabandhu Cup (1): 2016
• Three Nations Cup (1): 2021
• Prime Minister's Three Nations Cup (1): 2023

Awards

• SAFF Championship Fair Play Award (2): 2013, 2023

Summary

Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).

Competition				Total
AFC Solidarity Cup	1	0	0	1
Total	1	0	0	1

See also

• All Nepal Football Association
• Nepal national under-23 football team
• Nepal women's national football team

External links

• Nepali football tournaments details – Nepal90
• Nepal at AFC
• Nepal at FIFA
• Nepal national football team picture
• Nepali Football Team, Fixtures and Results