International football is knocking on our doors and when it comes to Nepal’s international matches in Nepal, the excitement level is very very high. Football is once again talk of the town. Nepalese football, which once seemed to be improving all the time after some courageous performance, is having bad time living up to the expectation of supporters. And the time has come for the team to deliver. Winning the heart of supporters is one thing; it is points that matter for now. Nepal is playing Group D Qualifiers for the AFC Challenge Cup scheduled to be held in Maldives. Palestine, Northern Mariana Island and Bangladesh are Nepal’s competitor in the group. Nepal is playing the qualifier in home soil, which is a massive advantage and they must make it count. The players along with the management must have known this is high time they deliver. It has been long time, Nepal has not scored goal and not won any of its matches.
Most of the people are disappointed with inability of strikers to score goal. Scoring goal is essential but I see problems beyond that. I have been following Nepal’s matches for quite a time. Football is a team game and contribution from every corner is essential. Nepal plays good in possession, but they do not use their possession to create lot of chances. When Nepal gets the ball, they are very slow to use it. They should use the ball fast and string a lot of quick passes that does not let opposition settle and the players can get into a lot of space and create goal scoring opportunities. When the players move with the ball, they are not able to provide a killer ball. Neither the strikers make creative runs. So every time, Nepal comes with the ball, opposition shuts the door and players seem helpless. The opposition closes the player with the ball and he sees none of his friend to pass the ball to. So every Nepali player should be eager to get the ball and get to a position where he should be able to pass the ball to another player. There is not enough penetration from the Nepalese player and it a real disappointment. When every player is creative on the third half of the pitch, goals are eventually there to be taken.
Nepalese defence is good, but at some time in the match, they lose their concentration and concede goal and hence they are needed to be on high alert. Their communication is vital in defensive line. Sagar Thapa is experienced and he should arrange the defence for better performance. The defensive midfielders should help the defence out. Whenever the full backs are on offensive, they should help out the defence by dropping deep. Better is for midfielders closing the ball up the field very quickly, so that opposition has to track back or has no alternative and no idea of using the ball. I think Nepal should double up dangerous player of other team. Nepal should just not allow them to settle down. Defensive midfielders are very important part of the game. With Rohit Chand back into the squad, either he or Sandeep Rai can be used as defensive midfielder. They both are always the best performer on the pitch for Nepal. Their game is important as part of Nepal’s game. Nepal should hunt in pack, be it on offensive or defensive. Biraj Maharjan and Rabin Shrestha are the most likely two full backs. They should be involved throughout the match. Biraj Maharjan has very good crossing and is strong. He should go for overlapping runs more often. Rabin Shrestha may be weak but has very good understanding of the game and he is always going to stick with player in the wing. Their overlapping runs are also something to be seen. Performances of these players are very important.
Nepalese midfield is ok. In Bhola Silwal, we have a player with amazing stamina. He can run around the field with enormous energy. How is he going to use it is important. Jagjeet Shrestha has amazing talent and can create havoc in the D area with his skills. The only problem with him is discipline. We can see his passion for the country and game when he is on the field. He is always eager to get the ball. All the players should learn from him. He can be the play maker for Nepal. He has amazing vision to change flanks and vision to pick out passes. Bharat Khawas is another one with amazing determination. He has been a consistent performer for the country. He can run with the ball against the opposition and do things with it. It is necessary for the midfielders to be creative and should be always thinking of the game. They should have good coordination with the defence and attack. They should be clever in picking out passes.
Nepalese attack is not totally quality less which we have seen from the amount of goal they have scored in the league. Every striker has their own quality. Who gets picked depends on the tactics of coach. Attackers are either required to be creating things in the box or should be at the right place at the right time. Nepali attackers show neither of them. They are not helped by performance of the midfielder too. There are not enough balls from midfield for the attackers to play with. It is very important from them to read the game and make things happen. If it is needed for attackers to drop deep, they should do that. But if attackers try to get the ball from deep and have nowhere to go, that does not do good for the team.
Having said that, Nepal has to be very careful in this tournament. The opposition are well prepared and have come out of intense preparation. The support from the home fans is always going to be there. But the fans tend to get frustrated very quickly. What we have seen from the games recently is, Nepal starts with good energy but that fades up as the time progresses. Then mistakes start to happen. So Nepal should start and settle down quickly. Early on the halves are the best time for Nepal to score goal. That will get every player motivated and can keep the crowd alive. The tactics from the new coaches are surely going to be new things for the players. How good they implement is a big question. Let us hope this tournament can create new road map for Nepalese football; we supporters are ready for the tournament. Let’s hope the players are also ready and up for it.
Come on Nepal.
P.S.: The blog was first published on "http://samaykosanopal.wordpress.com" on March 1.
It was also featured in GoalNepal.com's website on March 2. Here's the GoalNepal's version http://www.goalnepal.com/news.php?id=12525
No comments:
Post a Comment