football

Agencies Lionel Messi has been left off Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia to allow the forward to rebuild his match fitness at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as he recovers from COVID-19, according to media reports. Messi has not played for PSG since a 1-1 draw at Lorient in Ligue 1 on December 22, ESPN reported. With Argentina having already qualified for the World Cup, head coach Lionel Scaloni announced his 27-man squad on Wednesday, leaving Messi at home in Paris. The Argentina captain tested positive for COVID-19 during the Christmas holidays and returned to Paris from his native Rosario with a negative test on January 5. Messi, 34, said in an Instagram post last week that it took him "much longer" to recover from coronavirus than he h...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal’s national football team forward and captain of Manang Marshyangdi Club, Anjan Bista, has bagged the best national player award 2078. Sahara Club honoured Bista with the award during the opening ceremony of the Aaha Rara Gold Cup football tournament in Pokhara on Thursday. He received a letter of appreciation and a purse of Rs 35,000. Sports journalist Himesh Ratna Bajracharya was also felicitated during the inauguration ceremony. Bajracharya has published a book featuring the details of all the 20 editions of Aaha Rara Gold Cup. Since a couple of years, Sahara Club has been felicitating one footballer who has contributed to the national team. Anjan Bista has been a vital member of the national football team since the last 8 years. He ...

Machhindra FC will face Blue Star FC, the SriLanka League winners in the first round of AFC Cup. The white Lions host SriLankan side on April 5, in Dasarath Rangashala. The winner of the match will face FC Mohun Bagan in the second round of the qualifiers. Machhindra were qualified after they defeated Police in the ongoing Martyr's memorial A Division league. The Nepal's defending league champions Machhindra, if qualified for 2022 AFC cup will face India's Gokulam Kerala, Bangladesh's Bashundhara Kings and Maldives' Maziya in group D if they qualify. The qualifiers features two preliminary rounds and a play off. The winners of first round, Machhindra or Blue Star face Mohun Bagan in the second round. The other two competitors in first round of the qualifiers are Maldives'...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - A total of 19 footballers of Chyasal Youth Club have tested positive for COVID-19 infection leading to the postponement of their Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial 'A' Division League match against Nepal Police Club on Sunday.     Chyasal’s Director Sanjib Mishra confirmed infection among the players. The postponed match will now be held ahead of the 10th round matches of the ongoing league, informed All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). Chyasal had earlier excluded some players from training amid suspicion that they had contracted the virus. However, the match had to be postponed after majority of players tested positive. Both Chyasal and Police have performed below par during this season. Police are languishing in the 11th position with 7 poi...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) for the development of different aspects of football. ANFA has signed a two-year agreement in this regard. ANFA President Karma Chiring Sherpa and SAFF President Yasser Al Misehal signed the agreement amid a recent event in Saudi Arabia. Sherpa is in an official visit to Saudi Arabia since last week. As per the agreement, both countries will host each other for football activities. The two countries have agreed to play international friendlies as well as help each other in training for different age groups including U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams. The two countries have also agreed to organize workshops, meetings and seminars for the de...

Agency Goals from Luka Modric and Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid win the Spanish Super Cup for the 12th time. Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao during the match held at King Fahd International Stadium in  Saudi Arabia means that the club are just one win away from rivals Barcelona's record tally of 13 Super Cup titles. According to the BBC, Modric curled in a brilliant strike to give Real a first-half lead while Benzema made it 2-0 with a penalty after the video assistant referee awarded a spot-kick for handball. The striker's shot had hit Yeray Alvarez, whose arms were raised as he made the block. Real were also penalised for a handball late on as Eder Militao was sent off for blocking a shot and Bilbao were awarded a penalty. However, keeper Thibaut Court...

Nepal National Football team will take on Mauritius in two friendly matches scheduled to be played on January 29 and February 1, 2022. Nepal vs Mauritius matches will be played on the home of Nepalese football, Dasarath Rangashala. The friendly matches against 172 ranked Mauritius will be played under the FIFA international match calendar dates. The last time Nepal hosted international matches were against India on September, which came as a preparation to the SAFF Championship. Nepal went down 3-0 to arch rivals India on the final of the tournament. Football coach Abdullah Al Mutairi announced a 34 34-member preliminary squad earlier this month with defender Devendra Tamang and four other former national team members including striker Bimal Gharti Magar made a comeback in s...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Satdobato Youth Club stunned title contenders Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) during the ongoing Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League on Friday. Satdobato defeated MMC 2-1 in the second match of the day. Two first-half goals were enough to seal the victory for Satdobato, who had taken the lead with a goal from Martins Silo Nanga in the 11th minute. They doubled the lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half. Ajayi Martins scored the second goal for Satdobato in a cross from Prashant Awasthi. MMC hit back a goal in the 57th minute as they tried to make a comeback in the game. Afeez Olawala scored a goal from a corner kick as MMC pushed for an equalizer. However, Satdobato’s stubborn defense foiled MMC’s attempts. With the w...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal APF Club played a goalless draw against Jawlakhel Youth Club during their Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League match on Friday. Both the teams made a couple of attempts to score but lacked the cutting edge. Jawlakhel missed a good opportunity to score in the 62nd minute when Onguna Junior’s header in a cross from Sunil Khadka went inches wide. Following the draw, Jawlakhel remain in the 9th position with 8 points from eight matches. Jawlakhel have registered 2 wins, 2 draws and lost 4 matches. APF are 10th in the league with 7 points from 8 matches. They have registered 1 win, played 4 draws and lost 3 matches.