KATHMANDU: Four players from the Mauritius National Football Team, who came to play two friendly matches with the Nepali national football team, have been tested positive for COVID-19.
The visiting Mauritius national team arrived in Nepal on Monday afternoon. According to the Mauritius team, four players were found to be infected in the corona test conducted after their arrival in Nepal. Players Lois Michel, Walter St. Martin, Kerlson Agathe and Hans Patate have been infected. The health condition of all the infected is normal and they are currently in isolation, Mauritius said.
Mauritius had only two goalkeepers in the squad. With Michel now infected, Kevin Obrian is the only goalkeeper in the team. As Nepal will play its first game on Saturday, it is doubtful that four players who have been infected will play.
Nepal has not announced its final 23-member squad. Coach Abdullah Almutairi has been training the team at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato for the past one week. Currently, there are 34 players in the preliminary selection.
Nepal and Mauritius are playing two friendly matches at Dasharath Stadium on January 15 (Saturday) and January 18 (Tuesday). Mauritius lags behind Nepal in FIFA rankings. Nepal is ranked 169th and Mauritius 172nd. For the first time, Nepal is going to play an international game with an African team.
The Mauritius team is about to play an international game after almost two years. Due to the Corona epidemic, the team had not played an international game recently. In Mauritius, domestic football has also come to a standstill due to Corona.
The Nepali team has not played any international game since the fair championship in Maldives in September. At that time, the Nepali team had reached the final for the first time. Nepal had played two friendly matches against India at home before the match. At that time, Nepal had drawn 1 and lost 1.
Match 1 : Nepal vs Mauritius : January 29, 2022 – Dasarath Rangashala
Match 2 : Nepal vs Mauritius : February 1, 2022 – Dasarath Rangashala
